


Unearthing the Past

by MiloKhan



Category: EVE Online
Genre: Action/Adventure, Consensual, F/F, Love, Multi, Polyamory, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-03-23
Updated: 2012-07-17
Packaged: 2017-11-02 09:33:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 104,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/367539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiloKhan/pseuds/MiloKhan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A story about exploring the history mostly alluded to in the universe of EVE Online, from the perspective of Evelynne, a new capsuleer. Follow her as she learns all is not as it seems in the galaxy, and discovers love and companionship along the way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the universe of EVE, that is CCP's. The characters in this story are original and mine, I merely decided to borrow their world for the background, as it is almost infinitely vast.

A/N: I decided to write this from Evelynne’s perspective as I favored the idea of seeing the whole story unfold through the lens of a single person’s perception, with all the limitations and surprises that brings.  
I decided to start off with a (much) later scene to give some indication to what you may expect in terms of action later on in the story. The first actual chapters will be a lot of character development as I don’t have any pre-existing material that people already know to fall back on for that. My apologies if it takes a few chapters to really get going; I felt it was important to have some more background-type chapters first to establish the history of the protagonist of the story, as I think that will allow people to identify with, and care about, her struggles all the more as they unfold before our eyes.  
I have not really planned the whole thing myself, and will most likely take it wherever the characters and plot want me to go, but there should be plenty of enjoyable scenes for almost anyone, whether you’re a fan of detailed space battles or (very possibly) sappy romance.

It certainly will be rated M, and my apologies if any later scenes disturb people. I promise not to make truly bad things too graphic, but I do believe it is important to include both the great and terrible acts that human beings are capable of in my writing.  
I don’t personally know why anyone would be affronted by it, but there will certainly be loving relationships between individuals of the same gender, and possibly other less “mainstream” arrangements. This universe is about 25,000 years ahead of ours, and I sincerely doubt that ALL the many species that inhabit it are as narrow-minded as some people in our day and age are. But I do promise that whatever the particulars, my characters will have very believable and, above all, loving relationships. I hope that inspires others as much reading about it as it inspires me to write it.

Lastly, I do hope this story can appeal to more than just people who play the game. I think it is more broadly interesting, myself, and I mostly used it for background/setting purposes. In the end, the broader themes that matter most are universal. I mostly am writing this as a way to express myself, so having people read it is optional. Though extremely fulfilling, none-the-less. Enjoy! If you want to send feedback, feel free to email me at mbuitendijk@gmail.com. :-)

YC 113 (current year)  
OSY-UD, Curse

There was darkness everywhere. The void that surrounded me now was something I had become familiar with over the past two years. The feeling merged with each and every instance of leaving or entering my ship. First, as always, I had felt the brief but agonizing sensation of the cables as they connected to the ports along my spine, moments after entering my capsule inside the central nervous system of the Loki. Hidden behind armor plating thicker than trees, and layers upon layers of shielding that could stop almost any weapon known to man, if only for a time... It was truly the brain of the ship.

Most spaceships were flown by enormous, tightly integrated and expertly trained crew. As a capsuleer, however, the many, many upgrades that had been added to my body, my mind, allowed me to control the entirety of this cruiser by myself. The incredible flow of information that normally required a crew to handle, to respond to, was efficiently relayed along amplified neural pathways into my cybernetically enhanced brain. No human being could process that much data; but then, I was no longer entirely one of them.

My main tie to others, to humanity, however, I still felt. There was a familiar tingling in my auditory and visual cortices, and I smiled to myself as a beautiful face popped up in my mind. It was nearly an order of magnitude faster to respond to direct neural input than it was to see someone, and one of the many reasons I, and other capsuleers, could do what we did.

I smiled at her, an old habit that had yet to fade. She could not see me, of course, but she could feel the mental equivalent of what had made me smile, and I could see her smile in response. Alecto. She who meant almost everything to me, now. Even my prodigiously enhanced mental capacity failed to extrapolate what I may do without her at my side; there was only a void, as if the absence of her meant no future could be plotted, could exist at all.

“Evie...” I could see her whisper my name. “I am ready, my love.” An eager smile lit up her face. I giggled to myself at seeing her that excited. “This should be so much fun! I can’t believe we located another one of the ancient sites so soon after the last one!”

“Me neither. Usually it takes me weeks to locate one as promising as this...” We’d been hunting for ancient sites for nearly three months, trying to find more clues to what fate had befallen the earlier civilizations of this galaxy. Not to mention, the fact that it made good money... Both the artifacts, after having sufficiently analyzed them ourselves, of course, as well as the materials and salvage from the Sleeper drones that guarded the complexes that we frequented were worth millions upon millions of ISK.

If my parents could see how much money changed hands on a daily basis for items such as that, they’d probably die of shock. But then, they no longer had to struggle to make ends meet these days. I definitely took care of that. It was really the least I could do for them, now.

I continued. “Are you ready for this, my beloved Alecto?” I sent her a fond smile. “You are ten times more gifted at interpreting these archaeological finds than I am, you know.”

She smiled shyly at that, looking absolutely endearing. “Evie... You say the nicest things to me. I know you could probably do this yourself fairly easily...”

I interrupted her. “Maybe I could, but that’s hardly the point, my love. I am sure I could learn to do this extremely well, but I am better off specializing in learning how to ever more effectively protect us, and learning the latest nuances of every module we use on board of our ship.” I gave her another smile. “And you’re really the best archaeologist and intuitive codebreaker I have ever met. That’s no lie.”

She was silenced by that, and I could see the pride surging in her green eyes. “I know, and I’m glad you trust me, and my abilities, that much, Evie.”

“Well, you’ve more than earned that over the years.” I reminded her.

A smirk entered her face, then. “That’s true, and I certainly am not a novice at certain other activities, I think.” Her perfectly sculpted, platinum blond eyebrow raised in mock challenge. As if I ever would contradict her on that. She was an absolutely phenomenal lover, that was for damn sure. Not that I had a whole lot of experience to compare ours to, but I felt comfortable to objectively state that our sex was mind-blowingly good. I had more than once had to repair a fucking co-processor because she managed to overload one of the pleasure circuits in my brain. Damn, but she’s excellent. Her tongue, fingers... I mentally fanned myself. Focus, Evelynne, or you’re going to be sorry later. It’s hell to be inside a damn pod for half a day if you’re incredibly horny. The universe knows we’ve had THAT before, too. I did remember, and it sucked in a major way. Although, the sex after was rather amazing. One of the times I alluded to before that we had needed to replace some of my implants after our, umm, activities.

I heard the melodic sound of her laugh. She looked supremely amused. “Are you remember that time, again?” She knew me too well, it was eerie sometimes. “Better not, my love, or you’ll be distracted.” Her face became more serious. “I know we’ve done this before, many times even, but we shouldn’t let our guard down.” She frowned, then. “I don’t trust the other capsuleers here... Even though we have written and signed agreements with the majority of the corporations operating in the depths of this lawless area of space, you never know if someone would ignore orders from up high and try to collect a trophy. Or outsiders could come in...”

I nodded at her, mentally. “You’re right, and I haven’t forgotten. I’ll be on guard. I have a precious cargo on my ship, after all.” I smiled at her, again. A warm, incandescent smile born of my love for this remarkable human being that was welded to me more tightly than I had ever thought was possible. Our futures were very much intertwined, and had been for nearly two years. Ever since that fateful day when I graduated, really, but that was a tale for another time.

I had finished connecting to my ship, and felt an enormous amount of information suffuse the neural connections of my brain almost instantaneously. The whole world outside me lit up, and it felt like I could see every direction at once. In a very real sense, I could, as optical sensors on the ship relayed data to me every nanosecond of the day. It was a very surreal sensation, and had taken me years to get fully used to. And I still missed things, sometimes. It was incredibly hard to train yourself to pay attention to everything at the same time, and was one of the things that took capsuleers the longest to master.

I could sense every vibration, every tremor in the molecular structure as the Loki shifted with its superior agility, and started moving towards the exit of my hangar space of the station. In a sense I was one with the entire ship, and felt what it felt. It was as if my consciousness had possessed this enormous machine, and in a very real sense I thought it probably had. I could control it as expertly as if flexing my human fingers, and no longer felt any distance from the mechanical form I inhabited now, as I once had when it was all new to me.

OSY-UD IX, Moon 16, Serpentis Corporation Chemical Storage. I had made it my home for the last few weeks, and was on fairly good footing with the pirate corporation that ran the place. Even did some missions for them in between scouting for new sites to explore. We had an... understanding, was probably the best word. And they were fairly honorable, as pirates went.

At one point in my life I would have been horrified at myself, as I was now... But then, that was before I knew many of the things I now knew... and what the just and egalitarian Gallente Federation was truly capable of. Freedom and equality for all, indeed. They conveniently forgot to mention some of the darker sides to the idealistic vision, and darker sides there were aplenty. I growled at the memories, cold hatred filling my mind. What they had done to me I could have forgiven, though it was immoral by any standard. But I never could, and would, forgive them the things they had perpetrated upon the woman I loved more than life itself. She had not deserved it, any of it, all as a way of harnessing me, controlling me. It was the first, and final mistake that particular governmental organization had made. I had seen to that, but again, it was a story for another time. Reliving that, now, would not be a good idea. I needed my attention on the task at hand.

Alecto, who had seen glimpses of where my thoughts went, sent a silent surge of love and support into my mind, which helped smooth over the roiling black sea. It quieted it some, but only ever temporarily. No, I would never forgive those responsible for that act of barbarism, and one day every single one of them would pay for what they had done. I had only managed to find the directly involved parties, and none of their superiors had been within my reach up until now. Maybe soon that would change. But it did explain why I was in this part of null-sec space, working with the Serpentis and Archangel organizations. Currently I was still proving myself, my value, to them. But one day in the future, they would help me hunt down those responsible for Alecto’s violations. How ironic, in the end, that the stated reason for why they had taken her would ensure their eventual downfall.

I pushed those thoughts away, for now. The one downside of being supremely efficient at thinking along dozens of lines simultaneously, was that it was very difficult to completely shut something from my mind. It was as if part of my consciousness always thought of it, and never could let go. The constant presence of Alecto’s mind in mine helped, though. When compared to the importance of her, the vengeance and hate was nearly non-existent. But the emptiness of space would tremble at the depths of my fury if she ever would be taken from me.

The Loki, our Loki, glided out of the station’s loading bay serenely. Within the forcefield of the station’s bay it was virtually impossible for anyone else to harm you. As soon as we left the perimeter, though, it was an altogether different story.

Currently, it should be safe, as the system scanner showed no active capsuleers in the system. The fact that every capsuleer was connected at all times to the galaxy-wide grid that made us immortal, also ensured that we knew of each other’s presence in the same system. At least in K-space, that is. Where we were going that would not necessarily hold true, and I had fitted my ship with an advanced probe launcher that was very efficient at locating anything larger than a space rock the size of my head. It was really the best, and sometimes only, defense you had.

The Loki aligned quickly to the first of my many safe-spots in the system. They were a necessary precaution, as one could only warp to a known location. Warping to places everyone knew about and could easily reach was beyond stupid, and not something I had done any time recently. I grinned a little. I may have back in the day, before I knew some of the nuances of safety in these remote areas of space.

As the ship entered warp, I detected a presence entering the OSY-UD system. Unknown name, unknown corporation. My threat awareness level went up slightly. Though, as long as the capsuleer stayed off my ship’s long-range scanners it would be fairly safe, as he shouldn’t be able to locate me that easily.

The warp lasted all of thirty seconds, and as we left warp I could feel the brief sensation of discomfort coming from Alecto. She still wasn’t quite used to the massive deceleration, even within the protective fields of the ship. At least, I thought, she hasn’t puked all over the small crew quarters any time recently. Ah, fond memories. A feeling of mock outrage made itself known, and I could imagine the vision of her scowl.

As the Loki came out of warp speeds, I started deploying scanning probes to locate the entrance to the wormhole we’d be entering. I had scouted it out earlier, of course, but it was good practice to quickly deploy the probes on the grid I could mentally overlay on the OSY-UD system in a commonly used, very effective 7-probe pattern. Having four probes flanking the location laterally, with one above and one below, and a single probe at the center of the geometrical shape, really had been one of the most efficient ways of locating a signature that I had used. As I moved the probes on my mentally overlaid grid, Aura, my AI companion, sent the corresponding digital signals to the scanning probes.

I quickly shifted to my second safe-spot in the system, not wanting to remain in the same place for too long. It wouldn’t do to have someone else locate, over time, all my safe havens in the system. Some capsuleers could be quite persistent, and hunt you over a period of weeks just to get the bragging rights of a kill, and the valuables on your ship. The unknown capsuleer had left the system, again, but it really was better to be safe with these things. Complacency had ended many an illustrious ship’s career. Not necessarily the capsuleer, as we were nigh-immortal, but it was hideously expensive, and somewhat traumatic, to wake up in a clone somewhere else. Hurt your ego, for one.

By the time the ship came out of warp once again, I had located the wormhole signature and locked its signal down. Recalling the probes, I felt the Loki shift once more towards the outer arms of the solar system, beyond the furthest planets as I gave it the command to warp. The distance, 6 astronomical units, or AU, was sufficiently close that my scanner would have located other ships waiting at the wormhole entrance.

That wasn’t currently necessary, as the system was still empty. One advantage of operating at unusual hours, and one I took much advantage of. Capsuleers didn’t work nine to five, of course, but there were definitely times that there was less activity, less traffic, and therefore more safety in pirate-controlled null space.

Reaching the pulsing opening of the wormhole, my ship’s scans confirmed it was the one I had seen, and scouted, the day before. Its classification, J145805, came up as a class 2 wormhole, and represented about the limits of danger I could put myself in with this ship, and be reasonably safe. The sleeper drones inhabiting these unknown quadrants of space were tremendously dangerous, and I had had several close encounters in C2 wormholes in the past.

“You ready?” A smile in reply, followed by a quick affirmation. “Yep. I’m quite excited, actually.” I smiled back at Alecto, before pushing the Loki forward with a thought.

 

J145805, C2 Wormhole

 

The edges of the wormhole quickly encompassed most of my panoramic vision, and the first sensation I had that told me we’d gone through was the odd displacement I could sense somewhere deep inside me. Maybe that should have been the first indication that my life was about to go to hell in a hand basket, though I could not have known it right then. Hindsight is, as they say even in my time, 20/20.

It was quickly confirmed by the utter blackness of space, out here. I could see tiny dots that represented planets, of course, and the distant orb that was the sun in this system, but there were no other stars, or nebulae, or anything else one could use as a bookmark of sorts to center you in the wide expanse of the galaxy. Nobody really knew where these wormholes led to, nor did we clearly understand how they operated. They did, though, and many people used them now, and had ever since their discovery many years ago.

Yesterday, when I scouted this system it seemed empty. Absolutely no signs of habitation. That didn’t mean it was safe, of course... All these systems behind wormholes were interconnected, and there tended to be several entrances. You never knew where another capsuleer might pop up from... And unlike k-space, w-space as we called wormholes lovingly had no registration system for capsuleers. There really wasn’t any way to tell someone was there unless they made themselves known to you, or you scanned them down. Added a bit of a thrill, that was for sure.

I stayed close to the wormhole, for now. The day before, I had made several safe-spots within the system to give me some breathing room should I need it. Most of them were higher order safe-spots, constructed from warping in between lower safe-spots I had made before. Most primary safe-spots were easy to find, as they must be in between two celestials. However, once you started at a safe-spot, and made a second safe-spot on the way to a celestial it was much more difficult to locate, as the possible locations quickly increased towards infinity. People could still scan you down, of course, but it was harder when they didn’t know where to start looking. Gave you another minute or so, sometimes... Which is really all you could ask for, or need if you were any good at surviving.

I sent out my probes, immediately warping them to an initial location so as to not give our Loki away. Having some probes sitting on top of you made another capsuleer’s job of scanning you laughably easy, and it was a fairly stupid thing to do. Also learned that the hard way, but I digress.

I could still feel Alecto’s barely contained excitement, and smiled to myself at how incredibly attractive it was that she was so passionate about this. She loved ancient civilizations, and had studied them for years. First as a hobby, then professionally at the University of Caille where I met her. Her mind was incredibly sharp, inquisitive and creative, and I loved hearing some of the more controversial theories she had come up with. She always, though, had some justification for it, and I had come to rely on her instincts a lot during our travels. She could manage to synthesize, somehow, enormous amounts of information into some sense, and we had quickly found that it was often better than not to follow it. The entire reason we were in this wormhole, now, was to find scraps of evidence about the origins of these Sleeper drones. Who made them, where they came from, how they could still be operating out here.

I started scanning signatures in the system. I had already found a few initial sites, but it never hurt to explore more areas while we analyzed the data. It kept a girl interested, after all, and that was good. Besides, having some material benefit to show for our trip regardless of the archaeological evidence we may or may not unearth was good practice. We’d eventually lose the ship, most likely, and I was already saving up for the eventual replacement we’d have to buy, then. My capsule would survive that in most situations, and I had a second escape pod installed for Alecto in the case of an impending catastrophe. It was programmable, and could be quickly instructed to take her to safety. Beyond getting stranded in a warp bubble, it was a fairly good way to keep her safe. But not losing the ship, of course, was the primary means to do that.

After a few minutes of scanning down signatures, I had tracked down five gravitometric signatures, 3 anomalies of varying kinds, a radar site and a magnetometric site. The magnetometric signature was our primary target, but possibly not our first.

“Alecto?”

“Hmm?” Her voice instantly rang in my mind.

“I was thinking... First alert the Sleeper drones in some of the other sites, then start clearing the ruins while the drones arrive in the other parts of the system?”

I could feel her nod affirmatively. “Sounds good! Those Sleepers sure are slow, sometimes. Slow to arrive, but when they do...” She shivered a little.

I agreed, deep down. The things were quite disturbing in how damn efficient they were at eliminating threats. They seemed to possess a tactical intelligence that few of the many scumbag pirates and empire fleets in the galaxy did not rival. One of the reasons we were so interested in their existence. “I know.” I told her softly within our mental link. “They disturb me a great deal, too, my love. We’ll clear the Sleepers, first, and then I will leave you to analyze the archaeological ruins while I salvage the remains of the guarding drones. Sound good?”

She smiled. “Sounds good!” Alecto followed up with a giggle, one of her more endearing traits in my mind. “Evie, I am so excited to do this! I can’t wait to see what we’ll discover. It may just be blueprints, or old datapads or logs. But I really get the sense that we’re on to something, here. Something big.” Her voice rose slightly in pitch as her excitement spilled forth through our connection.

I grinned. “Don’t get yourself too excited, now. And we can’t count our chickens until they’ve hatched, so to speak.”

I initiated a series of warps, then, to all of the minor sites we’d visit over the course of the day. It would alert the defensive sensors, I imagined, as the Sleepers somehow knew you were there. My bet was on some hyper-advanced sensor system that we couldn’t detect that let them know they were needed, as you could never sense them before they showed up. One of the worst parts about fighting those things was that you had so little warning. You could be perfectly safe, and then the next moment have Sleeper forces deployed on top of you, instantly being scrambled and having to fight for your life. At least they hadn’t figured out how to stop the data transfer to your clone. Don’t give them any ideas, Eve...

After the 8th warp we’d hit all the smaller sites. From experience I knew it’d be about 20 minutes before the Sleepers would show up there, giving us enough time to eliminate the guardians at the Magnetometric site that we were most interested in.

“Ready?”

“Ready.” Alecto replied.

“Okay, then.”

I initiated warp, and the Loki shot forward into the furthest reaches of this wormhole. Roughly five AU from the outer planet orbiting the pale yellow star. The queasy sensation in my stomach was barely noticible now, as I experienced the rapid deceleration from warp speed for the umpteenth time. It helped to have most of your organ systems fortified, too, of course. And sensory input dampeners that could block most types of input to the brain if necessary made it almost trivial to ignore uncomfortable sensations. Of course, there usually was a reason your body tried to tell you this, so ignoring it frequently came at a potentially high price. You didn’t want to ignore the cold for so long your body froze solid, after all. Heard of that happening once, though not to yours truly. That was one thing I hadn’t done to my poor self. Yet, anyway, you never knew in this life.

The Loki arrived at the Forgotten Perimeter Gateway, which was the rough translation the site’s signature came up as, courtesy of Aura. Within moments, 5 hostile presences had announced their intentions as locking indicators started to flash in my mind’s eye. Four Awakened Patroller, and one Awakened Watchman were trying to lock onto my signature. From experience, I knew the Watchman had energy destabilizing weapons that would slowly leech the charge from my ship’s capacitors, so it would have to be the first to go under normal circumstances. However, these ships also tended to call in reinforcements as they were about to explode, so I’d have to save it for last if I didn’t want to be overwhelmed. I’d just have to make sure it died before my capacitor bled empty. Easier said than done, though.

I felt the exhilaration fill me as my body released copious amounts of adrenaline into my circulation. I also had several boosters on me. I hated using them, hated the way they made me feel, but it could mean the difference between success and an expensive death. It was better to err on the side of living, especially with my current companion safely tucked away in the interior, most heavily reinforced part of the Loki.

“Hold on, my love.” I told her silently. “Here we go.” I turned the Loki slightly, igniting the afterburners on the cruiser and propelling it dramatically forward towards the incoming Sleeper drones.

My own locking mechanisms had targeted the Sleepers a few tenths of a second before they locked me due to the ship’s excellent signature resolution on its targeting arrays. A quartet of 425mm autocannons lit up the first Patroller, the fusion warheads on the projectile ammunition causing small explosions to flare up against the drone’s shields. The guns cycled rapidly, pumping out salvos every three seconds, while I made sure to match the approach vectors with my current target to minimize the amount my guns needed to track.

The impact of the cruisers’ weapons against my own shields was fairly heavy, but tolerable. I had to pulse my shield boosters every so often to keep the shields topped off, but as long as I did not have to constantly keep the shield boosters active my capacitor would last, even with the additional drain from the Watchman trying to neutralize my energy matrices.

The first Patroller’s shields were gone now, and my autocannons ripped into the structure, systematically tearing huge chunks of the Sleeper apart. Four bursts later, a salvo hit the warp core, causing an explosion that decimated everything around the drone in a few hundred meters’ radius.

My shields and capacitor were down to about two-thirds each, now, but having eliminated a fifth of the incoming damage gave a bit of breathing room. I could always allow the capacitor to recharge some before taking out the final cruiser, as the next reinforcement wave would be significantly tougher.

A few minutes later, my shields were down to about a quarter strength, but the capacitor held at roughly 40% charge as the last Patroller was torn to pieces as the superstructure of the drone came apart.

I had already salvaged and used the short range tractor beam to pull in any valuable materials from the wreckage of the other drones. It was important also from a security perspective, as wrecks were a clear indication that someone was around, and they were exceedingly easy to spot even without scanning probes. I usually tried to salvage as I went along to minimize the time the wrecks were around. It was paranoid, yes, but it kept me alive, which was what mattered most.

Even with the constant energy neutralization, my capacitor had recharged to nearly 75% of its maximum charge, and I lit into the Watchman drone. The autocannons tore it apart in under a minute, triggering the first reinforcements wave.

Two tiny Sleeper drones accompanied a behemoth, dropping out of warpspeed only kilometers from my current position. Burning immediately towards them while the battleship tried to lock onto my signature, I started orbiting it at extremely short range to avoid at least some of its damage. Larger guns tracked rather poorly, and one could usually out-fly their turning speed. Not necessarily with these Sleepers as they had amazing tracking for a ship this size, but it still saved you a little pain.

The gigantic Sleepless Controller was having some trouble, and only managed to land a salvo every third or fourth try. However, each one that did impact my shields caused warning systems to flare up loudly, as they easily discharged 15% of my shield strength per combined hit. I was tearing apart the first smaller Sleeper, my autocannons not quite hitting it in an optimal manner due to its size, but doing a good enough job for my purposes.

The other Sleeper drone seemed to go for a novel tactic, and suddenly reversed course, heading straight for the belly of the Loki. “What the fuck?” I screamed in my capsule. Damned thing... That was a rather ingenious tactic, I had to give it to the drone. It was easily outside of range of most of my guns, sitting on top of my ship’s armor as it was. It hitting the shields as it had seemed to fry its own shield generators, but it managed to force its way through the barrier of my shields to the surface of the Loki. Shit...

I could feel the tremors as small caliber lasers began tearing into the armor plating of the Loki, close to where Alecto was sheltered. That certainly raised my ire, and running and discarding scenarios through my mind at incredible speed I came up with a rather daring approach of my own... If I had to use it. Where is a fucking smartbomb when you need one. I thought. I am never leaving the damn station without at least one of those things, if this becomes a common practice. Stupid AI...

The first frigate-sized Sleeper had already exploded, and I tried orienting the Loki’s autocannons towards the second Sleeper that was still anchored to the structure of the ship. It had taken out about ten percent of the armor integrity there. Not terrible under normal circumstances, but it didn’t matter how long it took to kill me if I couldn’t hit it. Even warping off would hardly help, now...

The autocannons swirled, and the gyrostabilizers they were attached to creaked almost ominously under the strain of turning in directions they weren’t normally meant to go in. I fired a salvo at the drone with the bottom two autocannons, and cursed colorfully as the shots bounced off my damn shields.

“Alecto?” I called out to her quickly. “Just a heads up, we’ve got a Sleeper attached to the ship, and it’s hiding under our shields... I have to get rid of it, fast, before it destroys the armor protecting the vulnerable interior of the ship...” And you. I added mentally. “This is going to get iffy, but I think we’ll make it.”

Doing a quick calculation in my head, I decided that we’d best take out most of the battleship Sleeper’s structure before attempting this, so I could quickly eliminate it. The only thing I could think of was to short out my own shield generators to get a clear shot at the damn Sleeper on my hull. But, that would leave us dangerously vulnerable to the massive guns that were trying their hardest to turn the Loki into scrap.

A few minutes were all it took to reduce the Sleeper Patroller to a critically damaged state. Alecto gasped every few seconds as another blast of precise laser fire almost surgically cut into the ship, so very near here. All it did, all I could do now, was harden my resolve to end that blasted drone, whatever it took.

Deactivating my autocannons save for a single one that would keep the Patroller from repairing too much of its shields while I tried my gamble, I whispered a quick affirmation of love to Alecto before pulling the power to the Loki’s shield generator. Her soft reply caused a brief smile to ghost over my face.

Instantly, warning lights flared up everywhere in my vision as shield integrity dropped from a steady 47% to 0, and a salvo from the wounded battleship nearly took off the hind quarters of the Loki. It missed by mere meters, and I tightened my orbit radius even more to try and avoid as much of the ship’s gunfire as possible.

“Alecto, hold tight!” Rotating my autocannons to near breaking point, I closed my eyes for a millisecond before pulsing a salvo towards the small drone. It barely overshot the thing, and I realized with a sinking feeling that my guns couldn’t quite shoot at the right angle. Each shot was going half a meter wide of the drone, but it could have been a giant chasm for all the good that did me.

“I really, really hate my luck today.” I grumbled. More alarms were blaring loudly in my mind. Armor integrity in that section of the ship was down to 37% now, and fading fast. It seemed like losing the shields there had given the drone free reign to use all of its weaponry, and it was shredding the plates apart even faster than before.

With a sinking feeling, I realized that in another minute or two I would be down to structure, and that was not including that damn Patroller that could very well land a lucky hit right there and strip the remaining armor off of the area. At least it would kill the fucker... I thought, and froze.

Of course! I realized now what I could try, as a last ditch effort to kill the Sleeper on my ship. “I’m sorry, love...” I cried out in my link to her, in despair. “Please hold tight, this is going to get extremely rough... But that drone needs to die before it destroys us, and I can’t dislodge it any other way.”

Her reply came instantly, and it nearly broke me to hear the conviction, the absolute trust in me in her voice. “I love you, Evie. And I trust you. With my life if need be. You are absolutely everything to me, and I know I am safest in your capable hands. Do what you must to keep us safe, and don’t worry about me. I’ll get through. We must.”

I nodded at nothing in particular, tears leaking out of my eyes as I twisted the Loki into a corkscrew figure, heading straight for the Sleepless Patroller battleship. I had exactly one chance to pull this off, and if it didn’t work there would be little left of us both. 500 meters. Bitterly, I knew that there was nothing permanent about that for me, at least... Physically I would still be there, in a new body. But whether I still cared to live if I lost her... 100 meters.

At the last possible moment, my impact alarms flaring, warning for an imminent crash, I pulled the Loki upwards and away, activating and overheating my afterburners. My ship’s not inconsiderable momentum carried me yet closer, the leftover velocity still taking me towards the battleship at nearly 100 meters per second. It was dropping rapidly, and I hoped it was slowing enough to not hit the ship at anything more than a few m/s. More than that, and we’d be like a proverbial bug splattered on a windshield, as the battleship outweighed us probably ten-fold or more.

A horrific grinding noise tore through our ship, then, as the belly of the Loki slid across the surface of the Patroller. The force of the impact, with no kinetic shielding to dampen it, was tremendous and took out what remained of the armor integrity, and even a portion of the structure underneath the armor plates was crushed as if it was paper. And I saw the blinking red cross on my tactical overlay blink once more and vanish. At least the fucking Sleeper frigate was gone.

There were, actually, compressive layers in between the armor and the structure that were designed to lessen impact forces, and they probably saved the ship from completely tearing apart and blowing up the warp core in the process. But I could feel the violent shudders going through the Loki’s structure, the damage control systems working overtime to keep the various critical sections of the ship holding together.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the forward momentum shifted and the ship started to move rapidly away. I had lost two autocannons in the crash, their status indicators blinking red as if I had overheated them to exhaustion. I did overheat my two remaining guns, then, and watched them rip into the battleship, as I started aligning the Loki to our safespot.

I started bringing my shield generators online, the significant structural damage slowing what otherwise would have been an instantaneous process. Luckily, we were under the battleship’s guns, still, and there was no way for it to hit us as we glided mere meters from its surface. Every volley of the 425 mm’s took out critical arrays on the other ship, and after the fifth such salvo a visible shudder tore through the sleeper as the capacitor matrix overloaded. It split apart, then, as an egg would have.

I immediately saw the second wave of reinforcements hit the grid, then, and entered warp the second after they arrived on the scene. Before I could say anything, relief flooded my mind as Alecto’s voice came through, strong and melodic and beautiful as always. “I’m fine, Evie... I’m fine. I think the compression zone saved my hide there... There’s some denting in the interior of the ship, but it held together.”

“Oh good.” I closed my eyes for a moment, tears of joy now leaking through, mingling with those from before on my pale cheeks. “I thought for a moment there that you may not have survived that crash. We barely held together there. At least we got out in one piece.”

I could hear the pride in her voice, then. “No small thanks to you. Damn, woman, you’re an amazing pilot to have pulled that off. I thought for sure we’d have crashed against that battleship. I can’t believe you got the momentum calculations just right to only slide across the surface before bouncing off. It is damn impressive.”

I grinned, glad that she was happy. Alecto truly was eternally an optimist. At least, when it came to me. I shook my head bemusedly. “Thanks, Lex.” I could visualize her scowl, although I knew she secretly loved my nickname for her. And it was truly only one I used in private, my special name for her. “You’re the best. Only you could be happy and proud after that experience, rather than pissed off for nearly dying.”

She only smiled warmly in response. Accessing the secondary ship controls from the interior, I felt her release a small swarm of maintenance drones that could patch up our torn armor plates, almost as good as new. Some liberal applications of nanite repair paste could bring the two smoking autocannons back into a somewhat decent shape, bringing the ship back into form. There was nothing much we could do for the structural damage, but we could take care of that when we reached the station. Was going to be bloody expensive, though, but there was little we could do about that now. I refused to fit hull repair systems, on principle.

In a few minutes, we’d completed most of the repairs. The shield generators were back online, too, and the booster had nearly restored them to full. “You ready to head back in there, Alecto?” I queried her.

“Yep, I think now that we’ve taken out most of the guardians at the site, we should be good.” A smile entered her voice. “Just stay away from the little Sleepers. For all we know they have a linked AI and the others will try to pull that little stunt again. If one nearly tore us apart, I can’t imagine what multiple Sleeper drones could do to your ship.”

“I know. Damned little things, I have never heard of them doing things like that. I hope that’s not par for the course from now on.” I shook my head. “I’m fitting a bloody smartbomb and some light drones, though, in case the bastards try that again.” I grinned at her through our link, knowing she would recognize it. “I mean, seriously... What. The. Fuck.”

She laughed at me again. “Oh, Evelynne. You have such a wonderfully spirited mind. Don’t ever stop being like that. I’d miss you and your colorful sayings so very much.”

“I won’t.” I smiled again. “You ready?”

She nodded.

“Okay, then, here’s take two.”

I glanced at my long-range scanner to check that it was still clear, and it was. Of course, in the thick of fighting for our survival I hadn’t particularly kept my eye glued on it all the time.

The Loki, sections of it still smoking and overheated, entered warp again, returning to the site.

It arrived less than a minute later, entering the site roughly thirty kilometers from the Sleepers. At this range, the newly reinforced battleship would be much more painful as it had no trouble tracking us. However, I could much more easily kill the smaller frigates this way, and the battleship wouldn’t be too bad once the others were gone.

Indeed, it took only a few salvos to utterly rip apart each smaller Sleeper drone, and I watched them disintegrate under the barrage of fusion ammunition with something akin to glee in my eyes.

“Don’t gloat, dearest.” Alecto reminded me, with a grin.

I scowled at her. “Pff, taking away my joy in life. These things are a pain, and I can feel a little happy they’re dying gruesomely, right? Metaphorically, anyway. I doubt these things really care about death.”

Another Sleeper blew up. “Oh, Evie, always the philosopher. It’s part of your charm.” She added the last bit with a wink.

I pulled the Loki into a diagonal approach to keep some transversal up against the battleship, causing the occasional shot to miss us. The salvaging module was working overtime, too, both grabbing the remains of the smaller Sleepers as well as the earlier battleship wreck. Battleships took much longer to salvage due to their size, of course, but were worth the effort. Easily.

The last frigate-sized drone had gone down as its shield generators overloaded and went boom. Training the autocannons on the remaining battleship, it only took a few minutes to overwhelm its shields and reduce the structural components to rubble, one by one. Its guns were the first to go, then propulsion and finally the engine cores.

It bloomed into a small supernova when the core went critical, which really was one of my favorite ways to blow up these things. I maybe aimed a little for that section of the ship. It didn’t make much practical difference as the armor there was thicker, but the visuals made up for the little bit of extra time. At least, when we weren’t critically pressed for seconds.

I grinned at Alecto, knowing the excitement she must be feeling right now. And judging by the breathless tone of her voice in my mind, she was quite worked up right now, eager to see the ruins after all the trouble we went through. “Okay, I’m ready to eject the Analyzer Mk2. Shall I?”

I answered in the affirmative. “Yep, I’ll scoop up the rest of the spoils here while you collect the samples. Then we can hit a few of the other sites for more materials and salvage, and possibly clear out the radar site if we feel like it. There’s some good invention materials to be had in those, too.”

I saw the Analyzer leave the ship, its form absolutely tiny compared to the strategic cruiser next to it. I was finishing the last wreck as Alecto expertly and efficiently scanned through the ruins. Even as meticulous as she was, the advanced archaeology equipment we had made the process very rapid. Essentially, the robotic suit allowed one to quickly cover short distances in space, take and store samples and scan digital imprints of anything else that looked interesting for later study.

That’s when my heart nearly stopped. My long-range scanner blinked angrily at me, indicating several combat probes deployed within the 7 AU radius I had it set for. Just as quickly, they were gone, and I knew we only had a minute, maybe two before we had company. Possibly a lot less, for all I knew they had already scanned us, although I didn’t think that was possible in such a short time.

“Alecto!” I shouted at her through our link, unnecessarily loud due to my near-panic. “You need to get back, we have hostile contacts. They could be here any time!”

I saw her right next to the last ruin, working on detaching something that she had trouble dislodging, even with the additional strength of the robotic arms. Her voice came, much calmer than mine, suffused with controlled focus. “Almost, Evie, almost. I need this last one. I can sense it!”

I propelled the Loki towards her, seeing the distance shrink rapidly. “Just hurry, I have no idea how much time we have, and they could be here in seconds for all we know. It’s not worth your life!”

She ignored me for a few more seconds, which seemed like hours to me as I watched the scanner again like a hawk. It would give us a few seconds’ warning of incoming ships, if they had already located us. I just hoped it was fast enough.

Finally, she pulled something loose from the structure she had been investigating. “Yes! I have it!” I saw her turn, then, felt her excitement almost viscerally. It nearly made me forget about the situation, so overwhelming it was to sense her elation like that. I set the ship to orbit the ruins she was in at a short distance, using the remaining momentum from my forward motion to slide past the structures, pulling the Analyzer robot into the cargo hold with the tractor beam.

Just as I felt the tremor of the cargo hold closing once more, sheltering the woman I loved and her precious cargo safely within the Loki, the scanner lit up once again. For real, this time. A half-dozen signatures, at least. Broadsword. Lachesis. TWO Proteus. Stiletto. Guardian.

I swore loudly, and very colorfully this time, as I aligned the ship, hoping it was fast enough. I picked my safespot away from anything else in the system that I was aware of, sensing I may not be able to go directly to our entry point as there could be more people waiting for us there.

I had thankfully just turned off my afterburners, which saved me a precious second off the alignment time before the Loki hit warp, leaving the grid at the same instant the hostile ships entered the site. I wiped the sweat away from my face, then, as the intensity of the situation had completely soaked my hair and shirt. Right now, I didn’t care about that discomfort, and used what little attention I had to spare to send a quick burst of concern to Lex.

She answered it, letting me know she was fine, if a bit shaken. I was just glad we had survived that particular encounter, as literally a second later we’d have been dead as the Stiletto would have locked us down in less time than it took you to say: “Fuck my life.” Appropriate last words in that situation, anyway.

We weren’t out of the danger zone yet, and I cursed myself for not having any combat probes along. Stupid mistake number, what, six?

We landed at the safe-spot, and then began a mad dance that lasted for what seemed like hours, as I warped between safe-spots erratically, trying not to stay anywhere long enough for them to pin me down. I was quickly running out of places, though, as I didn’t know if it was safe to return to ones I had already used. For all I knew they had probes waiting there. The scanner was certainly filled with them, and they must be covering most of the damn system by now.

At the next spot I quickly threw out three probes before warping off. I repeated this at another, and moved the probes off-grid as soon as I could. Maybe there was a way out that they hadn’t seen yet. It was all I could hope for, as they could easily have buffered the wormhole we came in from with a warp bubble, preventing me from landing close enough to return to our origin.

I recorded more coordinates in between the last few safe-spots I had not yet used, thanking my foresight and paranoia that was well paying dividends today... If I hadn’t gone crazy yesterday and had placed a dozen of them all over the system, I probably would have been cornered now. I didn’t think lightly of my skills, but nobody could fight a full gang of capsuleers by themselves.

I moved my probes back on the grid as I warped to the next location, down to just three now. That gave me maybe a few minutes, at most, if I drug out the time between warps. I’d have to.

I warped out of the next one only moments before the interceptor landed on top of me, having spotted him just barely in time on a greatly reduced scan range. I sighed in slight relief as my probes located a new signature far away from any others. I found it rather by accident as one of the probes had accidentally scanned at a much greater range, having forgotten to reprogram it in the rush to leave the safe-spot.

It wasn’t a wormhole, though, and my hope sank. It would buy me a few moments, but not nearly enough. A good scanner would be able to locate the new spot fairly rapidly, and I cursed myself for not having some kind of cloaking device on me. Again, hindsight was 20/20.

I reprogrammed my scanner range, and the heavy interdictor was somewhere within 7 AU. Which meant it wasn’t at the entry wormhole leading back to OSY-UD. Unless they had another one, or placed a stationary bubble, but in that case we were completely fucked anyway.

I could feel the carefully masked concern coming from Alecto, and I marveled at her bravery. Most people would have been terrified into a stupor by now, knowing they could very well die. She wasn’t most people, though, and I loved her all the more for it. Figuratively squaring my shoulders, I vowed to myself then that I would find a way to get her out of this death trap. Somehow.

As we entered warp towards the wormhole, I whispered into our link one last time. “I love you, Lex. I’ll get us through this. I have to.” My voice would have broken, then, if I had said it out loud, and a single tear rolled down off my cheek, falling and soaking into the fabric of my shirt.

“I love you, too, Evelynne. More than I can express in words. And I have completely trust in you, no matter what happens, it’ll have been worth it... For what we have shared together these past years.” She paused, before adding. “Though I would appreciate pulling through.” Even now, a hint of a teasing smile reinforced her words, and gave me some much needed strength and determination.

We landed right on the edge of a bubble, just as I had feared, though one only guarded by a single capsuleer at the moment. I knew we likely only had a handful of seconds before more of them came in, now, as they could easily warp towards the known location.

I fired up and overheated the afterburners, burning towards the gate as fast as I could. The single ship, a Proteus, locked onto us moments later, adding its warp disruption, destabilizing the core. It didn’t matter right now, so I assumed it was more force of habit. It was on an intercept course, and we’d have to brave some amount of its guns before reaching the wormhole entrance, though I thought our shields would hold out even under the barrage of its cadre of blasters.

The other ship was using a microwarpdrive to reach us, giving it an amplified signature radius that made my autocannons strike true every time, quickly piercing the shields. That, however, was not really the hardest part on a heavily armored ship like a Proteus, and I knew we most likely couldn’t take it out in time before reinforcements showed up.

I activated my scramblers and shorted out the other ship’s warp core, drastically reducing its speed relative to my own. Our guns were missing more now, hybrid charges and fusion projectiles slamming into shields and armor, respectively. Seconds later, we moved past the Proteus, and I could see the wormhole mere kilometers away.

Moving in a straight line past the cruiser made us a bullseye, and its array of blasters began slowly wearing down our shields, overwhelming the booster’s ability to repair it fast enough. I glanced at the indicators, hoping they would hold long enough. Judging by the rate of decline, they should. Thankfully. But who knew what was on the other side of the jump?

Seconds later, our shields down to barely over half of maximum capacity, five more ships showed up, landing on top of the wormhole as I reached entry distance. More targeting alarms were blaring in my head as we jumped through, the temporary void of sensation as we traveled through untold distances of space in mere seconds rather soothing. Of course, not knowing what to expect made me uneasy. Alecto’s presence in my mind calmed that anxiety enough to ignore it, for now, and I could sense her encouragement clearly. She was very pleased, and I knew that if we made it out of here, somehow, that we’d deserve a few days off. Preferably spent in a luxurious bed somewhere. It was a worthy goal, anyway. Helped me stay motivated.

The flash of light as we exited the wormhole was overwhelming for a moment, and as my brain rapidly interpreted the sensory flood my spirits sank again. Another bubble was up here, preventing me from leaving. Just a single advanced destroyer was present, at the moment. The interdictor would die rapidly to the autocannons of our ship, and if we managed to take it out quickly enough we may be able to get out.

It was roughly twenty kilometers away, and I made sure to align towards a celestial on the opposite side of the wormhole, so not to leave its opening in case we needed to make an emergency jump back. I had only seconds, most likely, before all hell broke loose here.

Three seconds later, my targeting systems locked on the interdictor and the autocannons tore rapidly through the ship’s shielding. Destroyers, even upgraded versions such as this, were not built for withstanding heavy fire for long. They shouldn’t have been here alone, but maybe its escort had gotten eager and jumped through to catch me on the other side. Sometimes capsuleers could be over-eager for a kill, like sharks out for blood. I knew the feeling, myself, and it was hard to resist the temptation.

Ships entered the system as my autocannons stripped the last of the shields, tearing through the weaker armor plating with small, concentrated explosive bursts. I was getting locked by four other ships now, and overloaded the autocannons, just for a few cycles, praying my shields would hold until the interdictor, and its bubble, died.

It did, finally, and I managed to contain a cry of glee as the warp bubble disintegrated around the exploding vessel. I was scrambled by the others, of course, but at least the stationary interdiction sphere was now disabled on this side of the wormhole entrance.

They wore the shields down to below 20% even through continuous boosting before I jumped back into w-space.

As today was certainly my lucky day, I shot out beyond the entry range of the wormhole as it ejected the Loki. I was about 2 kilometers too far, and knew this would get painful. Turning as soon as possible, locking indicators went solid red on our ship before we had turned completely. The afterburner I overheated yet again, but it had barely started to accelerate the ship towards the wormhole entrance when stasis webifiers entangled the Loki, slowing it significantly. We were still moving, but what should have taken seconds would now take nearly half a minute. I hoped that we’d still be alive by then.

I had to overload the shield booster and hardening modules, then, desperate to hold the shields together for long enough to reach the gate. Our stored supply of nanite paste was rapidly dwindling, and I would soon reach the point where modules couldn’t be overheated without completely deactivating them.

I could feel Alecto scrambling downstairs, trying to redirect additional power from auxiliary systems to our defensive grid. I hoped it was enough, for both our sakes.

The shields went down, still five hundred meters out from the wormhole. The boosters were still running, although dangerously hot now from the stress of overheating them for so long. They managed to absorb a good chunk of the incoming damage, though the overwhelmed shields were allowing shots to grind into the armor plating near the aft of the Loki.

The armor integrity reduced to almost nothing, we finally came in range of the jump. In the heat of the moment, I thought the wormhole looked... smaller? I wasn’t completely sure, though, and paid no further attention. Just hoped that maybe no one would be on the other side, this time... and jumped through again.

As we sped through the void, we both sent the other pulses of warmth and love, knowing it could be the last time we had the chance for that. I heard Alecto’s voice in my mind, too. “No regrets... None whatsoever, Evie.” I smiled at that. Still trying to make me feel better, even now... I cannot lose her. Not here, not now.

I realized that I had completely forgotten about the combat boosters I kept on me. A split second of decision making was followed by the flood of Blue Pill entering my blood stream, interacting with the cybernetics connecting me to the shield boosters on the ship, making it more efficient. I could feel my attention drifting just the slightest bit, and hoped it wouldn’t affect the targeting systems too badly... But there was little to be done about that, now.

We sped out of the wormhole once more, and I almost viscerally felt the shudder go through it as the waves of contorted space around it contracted, almost as if it was a living entity. Two Hurricane battlecruisers came through, then. The moment the second one left the wormhole the fabric of space tore viciously, spasmed once more, and the opening was gone.

Rather than take the chance and trying to warp off, I decided that the best defense would now be offense. Besides, if I could grind down one of the Hurricanes, they would most likely be unable to scramble Alecto’s escape pod should I have to eject it. With two on the grid that wasn’t such a good proposition, and I’d never risk it.

Burning towards the ships that were only a dozen kilometers away, I trained the autocannons on the one furthest from the closed wormhole. They locked me moments later, and phased plasma projectiles started slamming into my shields, making them light up as the tiny nuclear warheads went off. Even with the booster I could tell that they’d eventually overwhelm my shield grid as the pure damage projection of these battlecruisers was too much. With any luck, though, we could destroy one right before they killed me, as I was confident with just one remaining Hurricane my shield booster would be able to keep up with its autocannon barrages.

Their stasis webifiers hit me the moment I came within ten kilometers, and I realized I wouldn’t be able to get close enough to avoid some of the incoming damage. Both ships released a swarm of light drones, adding to the already significant problems our shield generators were going to have. Hurricanes were slow, but not as slow as a twice-webbed Loki. In response, I released five small Electronic Countermeasure Drones. With any luck, they’d manage to lock out one of the Hurricanes long enough to kill the other. How I hated having to rely on luck. What a terrible place to be, when that was all that stood between you and failure.

Thankfully, my fusion ammunition had already overloaded the much weaker shield generators on the first Hurricane, and explosions started tearing up the armor plating underneath. My shield reserves were down to nothing, too, and all that kept the full potential of their salvos to hit my ship was the energy supplied almost constantly by my shield boosters. Even then, they were slowly wearing down the armor plating that was already weakened from our earlier engagements.

Damage control systems were already working overtime, and I overloaded the 425 mm’s to rip through the last of the Hurricane’s armor plating. Zooming in with optical sensor arrays, I could see that the armor plates over one side of the ship were completely torn apart, and a few cycles of the autocannons’ constant barrage later the engine cores on the Hurricane shut down, causing a series of explosions to bloom up inside the superstructure.

Within seconds, nothing more was left of the ship than scrap, and immediately I could feel our velocity pick up significantly. Its drones deactivated as well as the central command relays that connected them to the other ship ceased function.

With a sinking feeling, I realized our capacitor was nearly drained from the constant demands of the shield boosting. Working only on recharge, we’d only be able to boost every few cycles rather than constantly. Almost immediately, the rate at which the other Hurricane was destroying our armor accelerated, and it was mere seconds later that it started tearing into the Loki’s structure.

Damage control force fields were really all that stood between it and the critical systems, and I prayed they’d hold long enough to live through this. Its swarm of light drones was buzzing angrily around the Loki, moving much too fast to hit them even at the best of times. Tiny explosions rang out over the superstructure as their small caliber guns put yet more stress on our ship’s defenses.

I suddenly realized that the other ship lost its targeting lock, and sighed an audible gasp of release. We’d have a few seconds to damage it, now, while its stasis webifiers, guns and scramblers were shut down. I started to align, knowing he’d probably re-lock me before I could get out. It was worth it on the off-chance it worked, though.

Indeed, the other ship managed to over-ride the drones’ scrambling, and locked us right before we entered warp. The few seconds’ respite had given us a chance to regenerate enough capacitor charge to restore the shields to 20%. However, we were down to about half structural integrity and no armor, while the other Hurricane had only barely lost its shields.

It turned into a straight up brawl, then. Neither ship was able to outmanoeuvre the other, and it was simply a matter of killing the other before your ship disintegrated underneath you.

The shields went, again, as the other ship’s armor was nearing critical conditions. Thankfully, we had slightly more sustainability in terms of repair rates, and I hoped that’d last us long enough to live through this.

The Hurricane’s autocannons ripped into the Loki almost unopposed, now, and more and more systems started flashing warnings as the additional fractures and mini-explosions tearing through the ship were overwhelming safety mechanisms everywhere on board. In desperation, I tried increasing our transversal velocity enough to make some of our shots miss. The longer I could draw out this fight, the better, as I was slowly wearing down the other ship’s more limited sustainability.

It worked, somewhat. Our autocannons missed every few salvos, now. We were still losing structural integrity, though at a reduced rate. I sent a quick query to Alecto. I could sense her presence, still, but it was good for my fraying nerves to have that ‘verbal’ assurance, too.

Her reply came quickly, warm as always. “I’m fine, Evie. I’ve fortified everything critical down here that I could.” I could feel her grin. “Ripped a few insulation pads out here and there that were blocking access to the cooling mechanism of the shield booster coils. I, umm, used ice packs and anything else cool I could get my hands on to prevent them from melting. I hope that’ll buy us a few more seconds of performance.”

“Thanks, Lex... It just may be the difference we need.” I smiled warmly at her in my mind. “You’re wonderful.” More shudders ran through the ship’s structure with every fusion round exploding inside the overwhelmed and failing shields.

The overheated shield boosters maxed out the capacitor matrix again, overwhelming its ability to recharge fast enough to keep them going, and I cursed. We were saved from almost certain destruction by another lucky jam on behalf of the ECM drones. They were getting nanite cake if we lived through this. The little things were beyond amazing. Sometimes, anyway... But today they were proving their worth ten times over.

The respite we received from that was enough to even the odds, and the other Hurricane was now losing structural integrity as well. I could only see the fluttering of nanobots across the ship’s armor plating occasionally, now, indicating it, too, had run out of capacitor charges to power its repair systems and could only fire them every other cycle. We just may have a chance.

Every system on the Loki was giving critical status reports, though, and it’d be extremely tight. And the Hurricane’s light drones were still eating into the structure near the aft of the ship, though for now the shield regeneration was mostly keeping up with their destructive urges.

The locking indicators came up once again before we could warp off, and more shivers ran through the Loki as the structural integrity slowly broke down more and more. 27%... 23%... 20%. Fucking hell, I thought, this is going to be way closer than I want it to be. We’re really one or two lucky hits away from destruction, now. Or if someone manages to come in to reinforce them... I frantically checked the scanners, but they were still quiet, thankfully.

Our autocannons took the Hurricane down to nearly no structural integrity before its overheated armor repairing nanobot swarm gave one last ditch effort to hold it together, patching together some armor plates over the most critical sections of the battlecruiser. It added precious seconds to the time we needed, and I wasn’t sure if we would have that much before we exploded. 11% structural integrity.

I had a few cycles of overheating left on the autocannons and used it now, watching the temperature gauges like a mother watches a newborn infant to make sure I didn’t accidentally blow up the guns. That’d be embarrassing, and very deadly. The increased performance, though, ripped through the battlecruiser’s armor plates with abandon, and with the second salvo the last of its armor disintegrated once more, leaving only a few percent of its structure intact. Just one more cycle of my guns... Please... please shoot before theirs do.

I whispered a quick I love you to Alecto and felt rather than heard her reply, before both ships fired nearly instantaneously. My shield boosters gave a last gasp and managed to provide a tiny bit of buffer against the incoming rounds, but it proved ineffectual as the barrage of 6 autocannons overwhelmed the shields, piercing right into the belly of the Loki. I felt the enormous explosion tear through the inside of the ship as the fusion ammunition penetrated deeply, too deeply, in an unlucky combination of factors. It must have hit the shield hardening modules as they instantly went offline, and the auxiliary power units attached to them went critical and exploded, taking a good portion of the interior structure of the ship with it. The damage control force fields somehow held the ship together, preventing it from completely disintegrating as the structural integrity went down to nearly nothing. My autocannons had almost all burned out with that last salvo, the overheated rounds spewing from their barrels nearly melting before they left the guns. They landed a critical blow on the battlecruiser, too, and I felt its warp core explode into a miniature supernova.

I could feel Alecto’s scream of pain shooting through our link before it went quiet. Too quiet. “Alecto!” I shouted into the emptiness of the capsule I was trapped in, and this time no reply came in my mind. A primal sound of despair and anguish mixed with fury tore from my throat, then, and I immediately switched to the internal sensors, barely daring to hope.

The sight that greeted me nearly made my heart stop, as I saw her unmoving form flung against the bulkheads, and blood splattered across everywhere. It was on the interior cameras, the walls, the floor. A huge section of the ship there was missing, only force fields from the damage control systems keeping Alecto from being sucked into the void around us.

The vital monitors were still indicating a pulse, although it was erratic and weak. Panic lanced through my body almost everywhere at once. Normally I would head for the station here in OSY-UD, but they had no medical facilities there and even not being a doctor I could tell Alecto would need help of that nature. “Alecto... Please don’t die...” I sobbed into the quiet of my capsule.

The enemy drones had lost their targeting information, and I quickly recalled mine as I aligned for the H-ADOC Stargate. The Loki entered warp speed seconds later, and after a seeming eternity we reached the H-ADOC gate that led to the system where we could get medical support.

Jumping through, I quickly scanned the surroundings on the other side. It was clear, for now, and I immediately aligned towards the H-ADOC IV - Moon 12, Archangels Logistic Support station. As the Loki accelerated once more to warp speeds I saw the vital signs somewhere in the belly of the ship behind me flutter once, twice, and go silent. It felt as if part of myself silenced with it. Temporarily for now, but I didn’t want to think about the consequences if she really was gone.

Tears streamed down my cheeks, trailing along the path the earlier ones had wet, and I was glad on some level I didn’t see with my eyes while flying, as I wouldn’t have been able to perceive anything past the blur.

We docked at the station half a minute later, and it felt like an eternity to eject completely from the ship and be released from my eternal prison. I instructed one of the tractor beams in the bay to gently lift Alecto’s body out of the interior of the ship, the force fields shut down as we entered allowing direct access to a part of the ship you normally shouldn’t be able to get within a dozen of meters of.

I cradled her in my arms, then, her slender body torn in too many places to count or sum up, and I knew that even if I could have I would break down and be useless. Separating that part of myself with cybernetic neural dampeners I blocked my feelings for the time being, and thought about what I could do as I flew out of the docking bay towards the medical facilities here. It had only been 90 seconds since her vitals faded completely, and I knew there was still time to resuscitate the woman I loved. Hopefully.

Detached from my emotions, I glanced down again and noticed the intense burns covering most of her front, the clothing fused to the sensitive skin I knew so well. Blood still seeped from lacerations too numerous to count, coming from I know not where. Vowing to myself, once again, that I would find a way for her to live through this. Somehow. I would save no effort, no expense to make that happen. If there was any way in the galaxy to bring her back to me, it would be done. Whether I had to destroy entire systems or empty our accounts completely and sell everything we possessed, I cared not one bit. Not right now, in the face of the desolation that would be eternity without Alecto.

My tears had dried, the source emotions cut off for too long for the physiological response to continue on. But inside me, behind the neural dampeners my heart and soul were bleeding tears all the more. I would have to face that later, and I knew I would pay for walling it off temporarily. I always did, as nothing in life came without costs.

I ran into the medical wards of the station seemingly seconds later, the muscles of my enhanced body straining with the effort of pushing myself that hard. Mental indicators showed tears in various ligaments but I ignored them for now, I couldn’t afford to slow down for mere discomfort.

We had visited here before, and at least the staff knew me. They were cold people, had to be to work out here in the depths of controlled chaos that was this part of space. But exceedingly professional, and money counted for more than anything else here. These pirates had their own honor code, and if I could pay the price there was no limits to how much of their expertise I could tap into. I just prayed it was enough.

One of the surgeons saw me instantly, most likely alerted by the trail and smell of blood that followed me through the pristine hallways of the station. He urged me into one of the surgical suites, some measure of concern clouding his otherwise hardened eyes at the state of the woman I held.

“Quickly, put her down here.” He urged. “She has little time, and needs to be revived and stabilized soon.”

I nodded numbly, and laid Alecto on the surgical table as gently as possible. I caught the doctor’s eyes, held them for a few moments to convey my determination. “She needs to survive this. I don’t care what you need to do.” My voice broke slightly. “Just bring her back.”

He nodded, a flicker of kindness visible behind his mask of professionalism. “We’ll do what we can for her.” His gaze moved to a far corner of the table. “Please move aside to allow me to work.” I moved there, my fingers trailing idly along her right arm. It was still mostly intact, she must have been facing away from the explosion with that side of her when it engulfed her form.

He studied my eyes for just a moment longer, as if gauging my will. “Her body is severely damaged, and may not be strong enough to recover even if we can stabilize her vital systems for now.” Several robotic instruments lowered from the ceiling as the physician expertly hooked her up to vital monitoring systems. An IV line went into her arm, a second instrument made a tiny laser cut in her neck to allow access to the carotid artery, in case it took too long to resuscitate the heart. A backup system could then supply the brain directly with nutrients and oxygen, allowing it to sustain itself for longer. I felt bile rising in my throat but forced it back down. I would not, could not, leave now. Not now.

For two minutes electric shocks stimulated the heart, rhythmically and consistent, until finally a tremulous beep returned to the monitor. It looked so faint that a breeze could have extinguished it, but at least her heart had continued beating. I felt an impossible weight life, at least somewhat, off my shoulders.

Glancing at the physician, he shook his head slightly, not wanting me to become too excited. Robotic fingers had peeled off the remaining clothes, taking patches of her beautiful skin along. It felt like I was being torn up like that, and again was glad that at least I didn’t have to feel anything right now. The underlying muscle and connective tissue was visible in many places, mere patches of Alecto’s skin still whole to some extent. I could see her blood pumping through exposed arteries and veins... At least there was that much.

The surgeon caught my eye again. He shook his head ever so slightly. “She’s stable, for now... But I fear her body won’t be able to recover from this insult. Most of her organ systems are working, for now, but she can’t live like this for long, and the burns are too extensive to simply transplant layers from less affected sites to where the dermis is needed most... Additionally, the release of toxins from the burns could very quickly shut down the liver and kidneys.” He paused, clearly thinking hard. “Cloning new skin would take too long... Much too long, she doesn’t have the days it would take to grow her enough of her own skin to completely replace what was destroyed.”

My despair rose, threatening to engulf me. “Is there nothing that can be done?”

His eyes met mine, unblinking. “Well...” He gestured to me. “There’s that. We could replace the lost and damaged tissues with artificial ones. But she’d need the whole treatment, or it wouldn’t function. A normal human nervous system cannot interact properly with a biosynthetic organ system, and skin. There would be all sorts of problems, too many for it to work in the longer term...” His voice trailed off.

My reply was instant. “Do it, I do not care how much it costs, or what we need to do to make it work. She will survive, I don’t care if she is not entirely human after this. I know I’m not.” Internally, I wasn’t quite as confident. I knew she had no problems with the idea of what I was, she loved me regardless of it. But she had not given any indication she had wanted to become like me, yet... And part of me felt like it was supremely wrong to make that choice for someone else. It really couldn’t be turned back. My mind raced through countless scenarios. In the end, there was only one answer I could give. I just hope she will accept my choice for her, and forgive me for what I have to do. I thought she would, but I could not be completely sure. Either way, I would rather have her alive and hate me for this, than dead.

Completely emotionless, while inside me my feelings behind the neural dampeners were caving in, I nodded at the surgeon. “Do it, she must live. I will pay whatever it takes. Just bring her back to me.”

He held my eyes for a moment longer, before turning and rapidly entering some commands into his wrist pad. His eyes met mine briefly, once more. “Are you sure you want to see this? You can leave...” They softened ever so slightly. “No one needs to see this done to someone they love.”

I shook my head. “I can’t abandon her, I will pull through.” I have to.

He nodded once more. Medical drones moved into the chamber, and a small gravitational field was used to suspend Alecto and move her into a nutrient tank that would keep the vulnerable tissues from drying out during the enormously long procedure. It would further allow them access to all the necessary parts of her body, at once. This procedure could not be done in sections, I remembered that much from my own.

I cringed internally as large needles punctured the veins and arteries of her neck, connecting her brain’s blood supply directly to an artificial heart, keeping her essence alive through what was to come. My emotions still tightly shut behind impenetrable barriers, flailing mightily but ultimately futilely against them, unable to force their way into my main consciousness. I watched as laser cutters neatly opened up the body I loved so much, granting access to all the vital organs that would indelibly change this day. I watched as her beautiful platinum blond hair, braided elegantly as it always was, was efficiently removed to prepare her scalp for the surgery.

I did look away as her skull was opened with precise motions, the brain laid bare for all to see. With an expertise born of centuries of neurosurgery advances cortical layers were gently exposed and peeled apart, allowing for addition of cybernetic grafts that would form a type of mind-machine interface, allowing the cybernetic additions to communicate with Alecto’s brain directly. My eyes were drawn back, the fascination with seeing this momentarily distracting me. And having my emotional circuits blocked, there really was no strong compulsion forcing me to not look. I knew, though, that later I would remember, my enhanced memory would forever etch these scenes in my mind. I would likely dream of this, have nightmares rather, for the rest of eternity, if not longer...

After the initial surgical connections were made during an hours long surgery, fully forming the hybrid entity that would from now on be Alecto’s brain, a tiny nanobot factory was implanted near the brain stem that would, over time, further upgrade and maintain each neural pathway, expanding them when necessary as a person’s cybernetically improved mind demanded it. A full set of Standard implants was then carefully inserted into the various areas of the brain they would amplify. They were optional, but I did not want Lex to have to go through surgery again after this, not for a good long time, and it was better to get this over with as I imagined she would eventually want the upgrades. If she lives... and doesn’t hate me forever.

Ocular Filters were placed in the visual cortex, enormously amplifying the processing power of incoming visual information and allowing future connections directly linking a ship’s sensors with her mind. Tiny nanofibers reinforced the optical nerves and pathways linking that part of the brain to others, increasing the possible bandwidth by nearly an order of magnitude from what it had been before.

A Memory Augmentation implant was seated under the hippocampus, allowing much more efficient processing and solidification of memories that would essentially give her a photographic memory. In addition, minuscule storage modules were attached that exceeded the storage capacity of the human brain significantly, and provided room for her to learn everything she would ever want to, or have to.

A Neural Booster was inserted inside, and connected to, the emotional processing centers of the brain, allowing superb control over one’s emotional states in a similar way to what I was capable of, was doing, now. It allowed a person to push themselves far beyond what most people were capable of, never feeling the crippling uncertainty of doubting oneself unnecessarily. It further served as a brake on most physical stimuli when that proved necessary, reducing agonizing pain to little more than a tingle when the sensory barriers were fully lowered.

A Cybernetic Subprocessor was next implanted in the frontal lobe, greatly expanding the logical and deductive and inductive reasoning circuitry that was normally present there. It would allow her to almost instantaneously map out the consequences of many, many different actions and pick the best way forward. Calculating in fractions of a second what would take most people hours or days to mull over, it made or broke one’s ability to respond to changing situations as quickly as most capsuleers did. We dealt with so much information, that without these subprocessors we would never be able to make decisions fast enough for them to matter.

Finally, a Social Adaptation chip was placed below the Neural Booster, greatly amplifying the positive side of a human being’s emotional capacity. When unleashed in full, it allowed one to be incredibly charismatic, empathic, and helped a great deal with nearly any kind of social interaction. It allowed a capsuleer to bluff their way through impossible odds, to inspire nations and essentially convince anyone of anything, given enough time and effort. Not that she really needed that. Alecto was already a wonderfully charming person. I thought. She’ll be a force to be reckoned with, now. Her brain waves, erratic and violent for the past few hours as the brain slowly tried to integrate the new components were ever so slowly calming down, restoring to a more regular rhythm that was human, yet very much not at the same time.

While the neurosurgery robots were upgrading the neural circuitry of Alecto’s brain over a period of countless hours, scanners had gone through every inch of her to determine which parts needed to be fixed now versus later. The incredibly release of toxins by the dying skin and trauma she suffered had critically overloaded the liver, and most of it had to be replaced by a biosynthetic one. It was grafted onto the healthy core, annexing blood vessels and nervous connections until it became tightly integrated into a new core that could filter any known poison from the bloodstream in seconds. Delicate nanosieve filters removed any impurities from the bloodstream much more efficiently than a mere flesh and blood liver ever could, and it was almost impossible to overload it. I hope she won’t miss being drunk... I thought in passing. Her kidneys, too, needed to be replaced by a similar biosynthetic hybrid organ.

For now, the organs laid dormant until the improved neural connections would reconnect to these novel systems, and learn how to communicate with them through the programming that would be added to the processing units later. Her heart muscle still remained in excellent shape, somehow, and was merely reinforced with a flexible outer layer that would suffuse it with the proper mix of nutrients, protecting it from most cardiac pathologies as well as shielding it from any but the worst kinds of trauma.

Finally, a second nanobot factory was implanted where her thymus had once been as a child, severely boosting the immune system with nanometer sized artificial constructs that would recognize, encircle and eliminate any foreign compound from the body. She would need it, most likely, as losing this much of your body’s protective outer covering tended to bring forth horrible infections. If not for the surgery, she would likely have died from some infection that no amount of antibiotics could cure in a human being. There was a limit to what medicine could do without intervention such as this.

The surgery in her head was drawing to an end and I saw the cortical layers being almost lovingly draped back into their original conformations. The nanobots in her nervous system would repair any severed combinations, and detach and reprogram others that had been less than ideal before. Normal nervous tissue couldn’t regenerate, but the missing pieces were supplied by artificial synthetics that could bridge the gap otherwise left by the limits of human physiology.

Minutes later, her skull had closed once more, a thin red line the only indication of what had happened within, of what it now contained. She was still without skin in many parts of her body as that hadn’t been replaced, but I watched with fascination as the many injured tissues reconnected, knit together, mended at a nearly glacial pace. Torn muscle fibers and connective tissues slowly fused as I watched her, the surgical robots patiently waiting for the underlying tissues to heal enough that the artificial skin could be attached, connected to the nurturing blood vessels that would supply nutrients, both organic and inorganic, to the new tissues.

Patches of still living skin had been taken from Alecto’s still form, to be melded and merged with layers of biosynthetics. Once the gestalt had been successfully formed and stabilized, it could fairly rapidly be amplified and transplanted back. The biosynthetics were capable of stimulating much more rapid rates of cellular metabolism and division, with the additional benefit of being as tough as many strong polymers, though retaining the remarkable supple nature of the original skin thanks to the outer human epidermis that covered it, and the thin layer of adipose tissue that softened her skin and insulated it from the exterior environment.

The massive amount of rejuvenating fluids that stimulated cellular repair and division pathways left their mark on her form, too, as her slender body was subtly, yet quite discernibly more muscular and defined to my knowing gaze. Over time, the biosynthetics would further reinforce the tissues in her new physical form, ever strengthening it until it was far beyond the capabilities of the original template. That, however, would take time, and mostly manifested itself in a greatly increased regenerative ability that would allow her to increase muscle density much more easily than a regular person could. And heal injuries in minutes that otherwise would have required days or weeks.

The last layers of her original skin were slowly detached, careful to leave all the nerve endings as intact as possible. It would take many hours, days even, for the newly awoken nervous system to reconnect all the ends properly... But I knew from personal experience that they would. The first few days she would be missing some sensory stimuli from her skin until they had completed all the repairs and synaptic junctions necessary for proper transmission of neuronal information. She’d be very insensitive to touch and temperature and pressure, but it’d fade over the next week... The sensitivity would keep improving day by day until it far surpassed what human beings could discern, or even tolerate. I knew that for a fact, too.

The first strips of the biosynthetic skin were layered over her vulnerable, truly naked form, melding with the underlying tissues. Light charge interactions were used for now to keep the skin attached, but within minutes the underside of the synthetic material would have anchored itself in the layers of muscle and connective tissue underneath. Slowly, as if by an act of magic, the familiar yet subtly different body of my beloved was being reconstructed before my eyes. Every familiar contour was formed anew and I could almost see my hands touching her beauty as before, and wondered briefly whether it would feel identical, or not. Sarah had known me before I changed, and had never said anything about the difference, so I doubted it would feel very different.

It took another hour for the process to complete and her body to once more be completely encased in a sheath of skin, as new and vigorous as that of a newborn infant’s. It was hers, yet wasn’t. A curious idea to my mind, for sure. Alecto’s body was still suspended three feet above the ground, more time was needed before the skin had attached securely enough that she could be laid to rest on an actual surface. She was still connected to the fluid lines that suffused her body with incredibly rich nutrient mixtures, optimized for the growth of the biosynthetic tissues that now filled her previously human form. She fairly glowed with the intensity of it, as the new skin was very pale, nearly translucent. It would take some time for the tissues to get completely perfused, and until then they would look like this. It was quite strange seeing her even paler than I was, her normally darker complexion something I adored, especially in contrast with my own freckled, pale skin.

I noticed then that we were alone, and I moved closer once more to the divine form that was now suspended in the tank, eager to touch her and give her comfort, but knowing I couldn’t until she had healed more. But she was still so incredibly beautiful, even with the fading angry red lines trailing over her skin like patchwork, and without any hair. She looked so vulnerable, too, and I knew deep inside that I would, had to, do everything I could to keep her safe, whole, from now on. I felt like I had failed her once, and it had nearly cost her, and us, everything. It still could, because I was not sure she would accept this and be capable of and willing to forgive me for what I had done. I could only hope that she would understand, over time... Most of me thought she wouldn’t be angry with me for doing what I had done, but I couldn’t help but worry for having had to make the decision for her. It wasn’t right, in my mind, to make that choice for someone else, as had been done to me. Although to me, I would have accepted it from her if she had done so to save my, and our, future.

I knew, too, that when she awakened finally, possibly many days from now, she would know agony beyond anything a human being was capable of experiencing. Until the nerves had reconnected the sensory stimuli didn’t work, but detached nerve endings would think they were hurt, and transmit a constant flood of pain to her brain. If she didn’t know how to block it, shield herself from it, as nobody did initially, it would be a living nightmare. I only hoped I could show her quickly how that was done, as she did not deserve to suffer more than she already had.

I made a solemn vow, then, that even if she never wanted to be around me again, I would spend the rest of my existence to safeguard this precious being from harm. Maybe I would have to do it from the shadows, without her ever wanting it or knowing about it, but I would do so. The universe without her in it was not worth knowing, experiencing... and I would do whatever I could to keep her in it. Even if that universe with her in it did not have room for me. I hoped that was not necessary, but looking at the floating form in the tank that meant more to me than anything else in this galaxy and my life, I had never been more certain of anything.

Still, I hoped she would, and could, forgive me for this. Nothing could be better than an eternity with Alecto at my side, exploring the vast expanses of the galaxy and beyond until the many stars in it had extinguished forever, and humanity was nothing more than dust. I hoped we would be there to witness the end of existence, however many eons that was from now. But first, I would have to ask for her forgiveness and understanding, hoping she would be capable of that even after all the pain and loss I had caused her.

A single tear fell down my cheek, mixing with the nutrient bath in her tank, and I whispered softly. “I love you, Lex. From that moment years ago when you kissed me in the library, until eternity embraces us all.” The steady vital signs on the monitor next to me were the only response I received, but to me the sounds of her life were all the affirmation I would ever truly need. Perhaps it was my imagination, but it felt as a tiny tremor curved her sealed lips into a smile as I said that. It was gone before I could really register it, leaving me none the wiser until she woke up from her regenerative slumber.

“Until then, my love. I will be there for you... Forever.”

A/N: Okay, then. I hope that was enjoyable to read :-) It will be a while before we see the next scene as we’re going back in time now, to discover how Evelynne and Alecto ended up as they were here. I made some references to past events that will be further illuminated in the chapters to come. If you’re incredibly impatient, feel free to PM me about it as I have enough understanding of the characters at the moment to know how it will play out. Having said that, they still manage to surprise me sometimes... Evie and Lex weren’t even supposed to be together when I first started writing the chronological chapters, but they had such insane chemistry in my head that the decision was made for me *grins*.

Some technical notes concerning EVE and this story, as I realize I took a few artistic liberties to make parts go better. Some features of EVE don’t really make sense in the real world as they only exist for PvP balance, so I got rid of them (i.e. logistics drones can’t repair your own ship, which makes no sense). I also changed some things about how repairing in general is represented, especially for hull/armor repairs as I can’t imagine a ship literally making armor plating out of nothing. It makes more sense to me that armor/structure damage represents integrity failures, rather than holes blown in the ship, making it much easier to patch them up again.

I do try to stay true to the game as much as possible, and please point out to me in a PM or review if you see anything I missed/did wrong. I’ve played the game for years, but I am not infallible and I have a lot more experience with some parts of the game compared to others. If anyone who has a huge amount of experience with PvP situations would be interested in beta-ing the combat scenes in the story to make sure they’re realistic, that’d be awesome :-) Otherwise I’ll just go by my gut instinct, as there are enough variations that almost anything can happen given the right conditions. And yeah, ECM drones are totally insane. Not my decision *grins*. I think that scene was accurate. I did change the jamming duration on them as I think a few seconds is more than sufficient for the sake of this universe.


	2. Graduation

A/N: And here we go, with the chronological beginning of the story. As I said in the prologue, it’ll be a few chapters before the plot thickens and more action re-enters the picture, as I want to take some time to introduce the characters, and have them share some of themselves with the esteemed readers :-)

It may take us a while to get back to the time the prologue takes place in, but I promise to try and make it worth your while. And the prologue certainly isn’t the end of the story, maybe more accurately it is the end of the beginning of the story.  
If you have any comments or questions, feel free to email me at mbuitendijk@gmail.com!

YC 111  
Bourynes VI, Sinq-Laison

The great assembly hall was absolutely packed. I didn't think I had ever seen this many people in a single place before. Even the enormously spacious lecture halls of my introductory courses at the University of Caille had not been nearly this crowded. For a moment, the recognition of the fact that there really were a few thousand other people graduating with my very same credentials made me somewhat less sure of the ease with which I might find future employment. Hopefully the universe was big enough for that many starship engineers. It wasn't much comfort, to be honest.

I fidgeted slightly in my seat, trying to smooth the crinkles out of my long graduation robes and restore them to some semblance of order. For the most part, it just spread the chaos around more and I gave up after a few moments.

Crowds this large made me uncomfortable, although I had become quite adept at concealing my unease with a mask of indifference over the years. It helped me fit in better. At least, that was one reason for it. The truth of the matter was, I didn't really feel comfortable showing much emotion around other people unless I happened to feel very much at ease with them.

Ugh, I just wish this whole event would hurry up and be over with, I thought, so I can go back to my tiny room and do something I enjoyed a great deal more: learning.

There were at least five more holo lectures I wanted to watch today. Especially the Practical Thermodynamics lecture looked excellent; I had heard they managed to snare an actual capsuleer for that one to emphasize how bloody useful a good working knowledge of basic and applied thermodynamics could be for tight combat operations.

Rumors had it that a good engineer could pry a good 30% or more extra mileage out of their modules, if only for a minute or two. That really could mean the difference between life and death in an evenly balanced situation. And yes, I certainly did realize how sad that may seem to the, shall we say, more socially adept members of society.

I was quite rudely shaken from my musings when Dr. Mariott, the chair of the University of Caille - Bourynes VI Engineering department, sauntered onto the stage, his chest puffed out with a self-important air almost palpable around him.

I had a hard time suppressing a grin. The man was a lifelong bureaucrat. Probably related to some Senator or another, as he had never done any research or teaching in his life and mostly seemed to have a knack for somehow managing to get his name added onto whatever important project was going on at the school. Of course, to read the official transcripts you'd think he was a scientific genius.

It had taken a bit of convincing on my part, but eventually my friend Sander had relented and found a way to hack into the Federation databases. We'd spent a few afternoons reading up on the guy, and several other things that I probably had no right to know.

I still didn't quite understand how Sander had managed that little feat. I swear, he was so good at manipulating computers that I was pretty sure he could get one to agree to have sex with him. I wasn't so sure he may not have, at one point. He certainly declared his love for all things electronic on a regular basis. I felt a smirk tugging at the corners of my mouth as I thought about my friend.

Shaking my head, I turned my attention back to the stage where Dr. Mariott had finally gotten his act together enough to start his speech.

"Good evening, graduating class of YC111!" His electronically amplified voice boomed out through the hall, easily audible even in the back rows of the hall where I was seated. "I hope everyone here feels honored to be amongst such a select few, and be part of the rich tradition of academic excellence here at Caille University."

I'm ashamed to say I quickly zoned out at that point, as I had an easier time paying attention to the weather forecast for the Gallente homeworld than to one of Mariott's disgustingly cliche speeches.

My mind flashed through many of the things I had done while in school. Most of them quite positive in the sense that I'd always been busy, and achieved my goals academically, but few memories from my time here were truly ones I treasured. Besides Sander, I rarely spoke to any other people at the school. I wasn't quite sure whether that was because I was just terribly uninterested in people in general, or if it was just the lack of maturity that bothered me when interacting with most of my peers.

I sighed softly. It really did not bother me that much to have few social interactions with others. At least, most of the time it didn't. I did occasionally get extremely sharp pangs of, well, longing was the only good term I could find for it. But I had no idea for what, as my life had always seemed to consist of this. It was filled with a great many interesting things, but few people of note.

A warm smile did touch my lips when I thought of my parents. It was a shame they did not have the means to visit this graduation. They would have dearly wanted to see it, but it was not cheap to take interstellar transports for a lower class family; and more so, they could not afford to take the time off from their small business.

It had been quite a while since I last saw them, and I was very much looking forward to getting this stupid graduation ceremony over with so I could hop on the next transport to Villore. Especially seeing my younger sister would be wonderful.

One of the things that was hardest about leaving home had been missing many years of her childhood. She was 13 now, and probably nearly twice as tall as she had been when I last saw her. I shook my head at that, even as a silly grin graced my face.

I was once again shaken from my musings as Dr. Mariott started calling the names of students. One. By. One. Considering there were about two thousand, four hundred students in my class, this was going to take a while. At least I would be among the first called. I could go back to my musings after that.

"Aleante, Selena!” A blonde woman in robes similar to mine wandered onto the stage to receive a handshake and an electronic copy of her degree on a small holopad. I saw Mariott’s eyes lingering on her a tad longer than necessary. Ugh, the guy was such a pervert. I felt glad for her when she could get off the stage a few seconds later. Not that I knew her, it was more the principle of the thing.

“Alebior, Nyx!” A tall man strolled up the stage, exchanging a few words with the department chair before receiving his degree.

I released a breath I hadn’t realized I’d held. I was up next; I had been in enough classes with that guy to know my name was directly after his. It’ll be okay, I told myself, this will be over soon enough. I snorted a little. Frequent internal monologues were a sign of a healthy brain, right?

“Alfion, Evelynne!” I sighed. There we go. I rose from my seat near the back of the great hall, and started the walk towards the stage. A lock of my hair detached itself from the unruly mass that was on the top of my head and tickled the side of my face. I could see it from the corner of my eye, too, and as happened sometimes I was struck by the contrast between the subdued colors of the hall around me, and the brightness of my hair.

It was nearly the color of fresh blood. Not an altogether common color to see on a person, but with all the evolutionary changes forced upon humans from their long exposure to new environments, it was by no means an unique occurrence. It did form a very striking contrast with my rather fair complexion, one I could readily summon in my mind’s eye.

I felt many hundreds pairs of eyes watching me as I walked towards the stage. I thoroughly detested being the center of this much attention, but I suppose it couldn’t be helped. I did need to spend the next week away from people, though. It was supremely exhausting for me to be around this many other human beings for so long.

As I walked up the steps towards the main stage to receive my handshake and holopad, Dr. Mariott’s voice once again rang out. “In addition to having obtained her degree with the highest honors, Miss Alfion managed to place in the top percentile of this year’s engineering cohort.”

When he said that, a low murmur filled the hall. My face was starting to turn scarlet and I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks, wishing dearly that I had mastered the ability to open up a wormhole in the middle of the hall. I generally did not care one bit how I did relative to other people, though I wish I had just so I would have avoided the surprise of this announcement.

Having reached the top of the stairs, I walked across the stage towards Dr. Mariott. The way he was looking at me frankly made my skin crawl with distaste. It felt like he was undressing me mentally, and it made me glad that at least these bloody robes were fairly formless. They were warm and uncomfortable, but it sure as hell beat the alternative. What a creep.

I managed to somehow plaster a tight smile on my face, and I cursed for once my fair complexion. I was most likely still blushing from earlier, and I didn’t like the fact that someone like him would have the satisfaction of seeing my flustered like that.

Mentally steeling myself, I held out my hand so we could get the obligatory handshake over with. As if I really wanted this guy’s approval. His larger hand swallowed my slender fingers whole, and I had to keep from shivering with disgust as I felt how sweaty his palms were. I seriously need a bath when I get out of this place.

Especially combined with the way he smiled at me, it seriously set off my creepiness alarms. His dull brown eyes reminded me somewhat of the color of the larger cockroaches I had seen as a child, living in less than hospitable places.

I gave him a tight nod, and managed to extract my hand after the handshake lasted quite a few heartbeats longer than was necessary, or appropriate. In my mind, anyway.

Turning around from him towards the assistant chair who was holding the holopad containing a copy of my degree, I somehow managed to avoid audibly sighing with relief. Dr. Lorander was one of my favorite professors at the university, and I had always enjoyed his witty insights in whatever subject we happened to be discussing. He specialized in propulsion systems engineering, and probably knew more about the theory behind it than anyone I’d met in my life.

I smiled warmly at him, and I could tell from the way he returned the smile that he was happy to see me here. The twinkle in his grey eyes was equally obvious to me, and I couldn’t help but grin a little when he almost imperceptibly rolled his eyes towards Dr. Mariott’s back.

“Evelynne!” He spoke softly. “It is such a pleasure to give you this. You were one of my favorite students here, and it was truly a joy to have your inquisitive mind in my classes.”

I blushed somewhat at his compliment. “Oh, it was easy to be engaged like that, Dr. Lorander. And propulsion technology is such a fascinating subject to begin with. Why, the effects of the various propulsion enhancements that have been used so far on manoeuverability and combat agility really are amazingly complex. I had a hard time going to sleep when working on the assignments for that class!” I realized I was getting carried away a little, especially given where we were, and my face heated yet more.

If he noticed, he had the grace not to say anything, though, and instead merely chuckled. “Ah, to be young. And it’s quite alright to be so enthusiastic about this... I myself still am, even after all these years of studying the subject.”

He held out my holopad, and I gratefully took it from him, my hands clasping it to myself. I really did feel proud of having graduated here, even if I did not like to make a big deal out of it to anyone else.

Dr. Lorander nodded at me, and spoke softly. “Well, feel free to keep in touch once you know exactly what you want to do after graduation. You know how to reach me.”

He held out his hand and I shook it firmly, before moving out of the way for the next student to come up to the stage.

“Alette, Simone.” I heard Dr. Mariott’s voice speak the name of the next student, though I wasn’t really paying attention any longer. Dr. Lorander’s comment had reminded me. I really did have to decide on what I wanted to do with myself, after I had a chance to finally visit home after all these years.

I could certainly try to slowly work my way up the University ranks, but I wasn’t quite sure if that was what I wanted. The bureaucracy was quite insane, all the time, and I hated dealing with paperwork and red tape. On the other hand, there were the hundreds of corporations that spanned the reaches of the known galaxy, and I could always see about working for one of those. There was certainly a lot of exciting new research coming out of the premier research corporations that existed in New Eden.

Then, of course, there were the more practical professions such as working as an engineer in some capacity on board of a large starship. I didn’t currently have much experience doing that, but I was confident I’d have the capacity to learn.

Reaching my seat, I sat down and zoned out most of the rest of the graduation ceremony. I suppose it’s not something I have to decide right now... I thought. I’ll have several hours on board of the transports to think about this.

I instead turned my mind to my family, and how much I longed to see them again. Just thinking about little Sophie made my cheeks hurt, I was grinning so hard. My baby sister. I had spoken to her quite often through messages, but it wasn’t at all the same. And my parents could not at all afford to use holo-technology to make the calls more interactive and life-like.

It would be so very good to see her again, especially. I’d always felt supremely protective of her, and it tugged on my heart to see her big, awe-filled eyes look at me. She did that so often when we were together, and I was quite sure my baby sister worshipped the ground I walked on.

I promise I won’t disappoint you, Sophie. I thought to myself, sealing that vow away in the depths of my mind.

And my parents, of course. Liam, my dad meant the world to me, and we’d always been close. He had a similar love of engineering and science that I had, but had never gotten the opportunity to really follow it. Life, and making a living (barely, at times) had taken away most of his productive efforts. Moira, my mom, had such a wonderful, loving spirit. Even with life as tough as they’d had it, she had never succumbed to it and lost her happy, caring nature.

Both my parents had always made sure we knew we were loved, and supported us as much as they were able to. It wasn’t easy for them to see me go far away for school, and I think it had taken every credit they had saved up over the years, but they had never said a word to me about that particular hardship.

I had sworn to never disappoint them, either, or object to their gift of my education. Somehow, that had always felt wrong to me, and I did not want to cheapen the act by not trusting them to have weighed the costs and benefits of it for themselves, before offering it. I had always known them to be responsible, so at the time I had merely hugged them, struck speechless with joy and gratitude.

Living in the poorer quarters of a large city on Vylade certainly was not easy. My parents had arrived there a decade before I was born, refugees from one of the many skirmishes between the Minmatar Republic and the Amarr Empire. They had lived in one of the border systems before it was evacuated, on a planet called Korgrim. A good thing, too, as continued orbital bombardment had left most of that planet in ruin.

They managed to make their way off the planet just a few days before that, but couldn’t take anything with them. I know my dad especially was afraid the conflict would escalate further, and my parents decided to make their way into the Gallente Federation. Lured, in part, by the openly advocated principles of equality and freedom the Federation was based upon.

They’d settled on Vylade, but by the time they had finally arrived there all their savings had been used up to pay for the various transport tickets and customs fees.

It had taken them nearly three decades to build up their small store to the point where they were making a fairly good living. Last I’d heard, anyway. I knew my parents were proud enough, like most Matari, to not mention any troubles they may have had. Not to their children.

Even though Sophie and I grew up rather poor, I had so many wonderful memories of that time. They were more precious to me than all the credits in the world. Just thinking about the time we’d camped out all night in the living room of our small apartment made a smile appear on my face.

We’d built a fort out of blankets, and the whole family had stayed up through the night. Talking, playing games, and having a wonderful time. Oh, how I missed that... It had really been five whole years since I last felt their arms around me, and part of me was almost in physical agony over that.

I was a very physically affectionate person, and a loving touch was almost as much of a basic need to me as the food I ate and the air I breathed. Alas, I really hadn’t been close enough, felt comfortable enough around anyone here at the University to do that. I sighed, wistfully, and thought of another fond memory I had.

I was so deeply sunk in thought that I hadn’t even realized that the last name of the day had been called. I was shocked out of my memories when I felt the person next to me stir. The tall male stretched a little as he stood up before starting to move down the narrow aisle. His action made me aware of how stiff my body was after sitting in the same position for what must have been most of the day.

I got up myself, and stretched out slowly, hearing some joints pop in the process as I tried to get some blood flowing through my extremities again. I definitely could feel a strain in my upper back and neck, though. I’m going to regret this damn graduation ceremony later. But possibly a long, hot shower would help.

I did have about half a day left before the shuttles that left from the spaceport on Bourynes VI would bring us to the orbital station.

Generally, the large interplanetary transport ships docked in orbit, as it was much more efficient not to have to go through a planet’s gravitational field both ways. It also greatly increased their lifespan as they weren’t exposed to the harsh forces of deceleration and acceleration on a regular basis. Air wasn’t that dense, but it was a hell of a lot denser than the emptiness of space.

I finally left the hall, one of the last people to do so. Making my way across the massive campus of the University of Caille I moved towards the dormitories where my tiny apartment was. It really was more of a glorified closet, everything was packed so tightly together that you could barely turn without hitting something.

I smirked a little. At least I’m not clumsy. That would truly suck.

Glancing up at the sky, I could see that most of the day had indeed passed by. The sun had already started its descent towards the horizon, and in the cloudless skies you could barely make out the enormous orbital station surrounding the planet.

That sight, and the constant shuttle traffic that I knew was going on all day long always managed to soothe me, somehow. Besides, spaceships of any kind made me happy. Probably too much so for a sane human being, but that was something that couldn’t be helped much.

I finally reached my dormitory building. Dull grey letters above the entrance spelled out: “DORMITORY 321”. Ah, home. At least as much as a place like this could be home. It certainly didn’t compare to the real thing. One I would see ever so soon.

My stomach filled with giddiness at the thought. It really was only tomorrow morning that I would be boarding the orbital shuttle, and then a day or two later we would arrive on the surface of Vylade.

The actual transits between solar systems were quite short due to the mysterious, ancient jumpgates that connected the galaxy like a network of arteries, and it would probably only take the enormous transport a few hours to move several lightyears away.

What tended to take the longest was the shuttles from here to there, and the waiting on customs officials, and boarding checks, and the extra time you needed to make sure you didn’t miss the ship.

I grimaced a little. I was very much not looking forward to sitting in various space stations for the better part of two days, but it couldn’t be helped.

Having arrived at my dorm, it was as if all the day’s exhaustion caught up with me at once, and I almost stumbled when I set foot on the first of the ornamental steps that lead up to the dormitory entrance.

Catching myself on the railing, I took a moment to steady myself, and managed to get up the rest of the stairs without falling over. “Damn, my legs feel like they’re made out of gelatin.” I muttered to myself. At least it wasn’t far to the elevators that lead up to my room.

A few minutes later, I had finally reached my glorified closet that had been home to me for five years. There was the small bed, that really wasn’t comfortable at all until I had managed to commandeer some extra padding to stuff underneath the mattress.

The compact, but fairly decent food processing unit was also there, of course. In contrast to the name, it could turn a mixture of most basic elements into edible (well, by some standards) or drinkable.... consumptives. I quite literally cringed as I remembered how *some* of those things turned out, but I guess it kept me alive and well enough to work here.

Still, being able to eat some actual meals at home would be delightful. A girl couldn’t live on reconstituted powder forever, right?

I punched in a series of commands and filled a mug with some hot coffee, then punched in another series and watched it hum, and hum for a while, making my dinner.

While the machine was busy making a ‘stew’ for me, I finally pulled off my graduation robes and set them aside, folding them carefully. They were not new robes, and I needed to make sure they were in good enough shape that I could sell them back to the thrift-store that sold used university supplies.

I would have to do that first thing tomorrow, as I really could use the little bit of money. It wasn’t as if I was going to be wearing the hideous things again.

Removing the bulky robes left me in a simple synthetic shirt, matching my rather short shorts. I didn’t normally wear things like that, but I hadn’t wanted to be extremely uncomfortable under my heavy clothes today.

Both articles of clothing were made of the same ubiquitous synthetic material that was found in virtually every cheap product, but I did like the way the dark green tint of the outfit looked on me. And, really, it was fine for wearing in my room when I was working on homework, or reading up on some new experimental design somebody had published.

Comfort was important, and I couldn’t stand being too warm. It made my brain shut down, I think, as I could never focus clearly if I was sweaty from the ambient temperature.

Even though the food tasted rather terrible, and the consistency would leave something to be desired, I still marveled at the technology that went into a simple little machine like that. And I had heard that the better versions could replicate, and replicate perfectly, whole meals that could make the greatest ascetic hungry for a bite.

A few minutes later, still sipping on my coffee, the humming finished and a rather disgusting looking mixture poured out of the machine and into the bowl I had readied for this. Like I mentioned, the consistency left something to be desired.

With a stoicism that could only have been born from many, many similar meals I started eating the thick stew. The taste wasn’t really that bad, actually. It mostly felt like you were chewing on something a bit too, shall we say, elastic.

I swallowed the last of it, and finished my mug of coffee to rinse out the last bit of the ‘stew’ from my mouth. I placed the bowl and mug in the sterilizer, and both were quickly and efficiently rinsed and dried. Ready for whenever I’d need them next.

Making sure I locked my door, I stripped off the remaining clothes I wore and eased my way into the hygiene chamber that was attached to the main portion of my room.

The movement detectors in the chamber recognized me and turned on a stream of warm water and I just stood there for several minutes, letting the warmth soothe my tired muscles.

I rested my head against the wall, sighing softly in bliss as the streams of water pounded against my skin. “Now this is what I needed...” I muttered softly.

A few minutes of quiet enjoyment later I already felt much better. I started washing myself using a small amount of highly concentrated soap to strip the sweat off my skin. These hygiene chambers used treated water that made sure your skin stayed moisturized, which really was quite wonderful.

It was a shame, though, that these tiny chambers didn’t have any full-size mirrors in them. Part of me always did enjoy the sight of myself, and the way the water would form tiny rivulets and streams on the curves of my body. It made me the tiniest bit excited, just thinking about it.

Closing my eyes, I could almost imagine that the soft hands expertly caressing my skin were not my own, but the lightly tanned, slender hands of another. The fingertips ghosting across the outsides of my hips felt exquisite, and I couldn’t help but gasp softly as the slight pressure of their passing over the sensitive bones underneath sent shivers up my spine.

Following the contours of my body upwards where my hips narrowed into a luxuriously soft, yet toned waist. The sensations made my abdominal muscles contract rhythmically, and I delighted for a moment in the the velvety feel of my skin. I had always loved to touch myself; it brought me comfort and helped me stay grounded on many an occasion when I needed that affirmation.

Almost of their own accord, the hands had moved yet higher, tracing lazy circles over my stomach that made my heart speed up ever more, and I barely strangled a gasp in anticipation. The first touch of slender fingers on the soft, well-rounded underside of my breasts definitely crossed the threshold that separated a soft gasp from an actual moan, and I could almost hear my nipples crinkle together and harden as my arousal built.

The hands traced around the edge of each breast, lifting them just enough in the caress to feel how heavy and full they were. Gazing down through half-lidded eyes I could see the twin pebbles that were my nipples sticking out stiff, as if at attention. Not giving in to temptation quite so soon, I completed a first half circle around my breasts and left a trail of phantom touches along the sides of them.

As much as I loved the freedom of being in a zero gravity environment that was common on some of the smaller spaceships, there was something delightful about being able to actually feel the weight of a breast in your hands. The subtle interplay between gravity pulling down ever so slightly on their heavy softness and the resilience they then encountered from your hands or clothes was truly something I adored, and something I missed when it was absent.

Even on some smaller inhabitable planets, gravity was not quite strong enough to give my breasts the delightful shape they currently held. Curling my fingers around the soft tissue underneath I felt the hardness of my nipples searing an indentation into my palms, although my small hands were not nearly enough to cover the whole surface they tried valiantly to hold.

Squeezing down with the slightest pressure already sent a shockwave of sensation up my spinal cord, followed milliseconds later by a returning signal that seemed to home in straight on the core of my arousal that was ever so slowly burning hotter in my lower abdomen. When I lightly scratched my nails along the skin surrounding the crinkled nub, teasingly coming close enough that I could feel the little shifts of air, I felt a slight tremor travel all the way down my legs, culminating in my toes. When the tips of two fingers finally reached my nipple, applying firm yet gentle pressure, I could faintly feel my nails make the slightest indentation. The barest hint of pain felt exquisite to my exhausted body and I knew I couldn’t stand to tease myself any more.

Wedging my body into the corner of the chamber, I lowered myself gently towards the ground, feeling my back slide along the polymer walls. My right hand moved towards my lips of its own accord, and without conscious thought I slipped the tips of two fingers inside my mouth. Quickly running my tongue along the side of each finger I lathered them with my saliva, enjoying the feel of the wet, warm appendage on the sensitive pads of my fingers. When they were very much soaked, I lowered them down to my right nipple, using the wetness for extra lubrication.

My other hand had been trailing a burning path along the soft skin of my belly, wandering ever lower until it arrived at my waiting, and very wet sex. I did not need to see it to know my labia were extremely engorged with my arousal, the blood filling the sensitive tissues and making them swollen and angrily red. My fingers teased along the outsides, my folds easily parting to the gentlest of touches. My first finger all too quickly reached the source ofmy arousal, and before I could gasp in a breath in anticipation it slid wetly inside me in a smooth, controlled motion, until it could go no further. My eyes almost rolled up in their sockets from the intense sensation, and I could feel them fluttering against the lids that were still tightly shut.

It had been quite a while since I last did this, and I could feel the pounding of my heart against my finger as it was pressed flush between both inner walls. After giving myself the slightest pause to allow my body to adjust, I curled the tip of my finger upwards and felt my heart skip a beat as it pushed against that spot deep inside me that felt so utterly divine. Sliding my finger out most of the way ever so readily due to the prodigious amount of lubrication that was, quite literally, pouring from my sex, I placed the pad of my thumb on top of the exposed head of my clit.

Even that slight touch was enough to cause tremors to pass through the muscles of my abdomen and legs, and in one smooth motion I sheathed my curled finger back inside, the movement just enough to make my thumb rub against my clit in the process. My back arched off the wall at that, and I very nearly came right there and then.

Repeating the movement again, and again, and again did do the trick, and I nearly woke the building with the cry that drew from my throat. I would have, if they hadn’t sound-proofed the walls so well. Although I did make a mental note to leave early enough in the morning not to have to see my next door neighbor, just in case.

The orgasm only whetted my appetite, and had merely reduced the arousal to a slightly lower steady-state instead of extinguishing it altogether. The next time my first finger left my swollen opening, two of its sisters joined it, stretching me open gloriously. My entire body erupted in goosebumps just from the added pressure on the walls inside of me, and the combined point of three fingers much more effectively stimulated my g-spot deep inside.

Now, every thrust against me made me literally see stars, and I managed to scrounge together the last reserves of strength I didn’t know I had to drive my hips down against my hand as it moved inside me. I could feel the pressure building behind my eyes, and down below, and my right hand involuntarily squeezed down on my breast, hard. It would have been painful, and would probably bruise, but right now all sensation was interpreted as pleasure in my overwhelmed and overstimulated pleasure centers.

As I moved my hand inside me I could feel the tremors of a major orgasm start to build, and I stopped the movement of my whole hand in favor of just maximising the sensations the dextrous tips of my fingers were producing. My thumb steadily stroked against the side of my clitoris, harder now, while the pads of three fingers buried to the hilt inside me applied rhythmic pressure within.

After the third such stroke I went absolutely rigid, and another loud moan escaped my mouth, as I started to orgasm, the overloaded pleasure centers of my poor brain finally surrendering and releasing the intoxicating flood of chemicals that felt so utterly delightful. I somehow found the concentration to keep up the manipulation of both most sensitive places of my sex, my breath stopping momentarily as I literally lifted myself off the floor for a few delicious moments. The continued surges of pleasurable sensation were keeping the orgasm alive until I could take it no longer, and collapsed utterly boneless on the floor.

I ever more slowly rubbed circles inside me, as if to soothe the quite possibly bruised tissue and to calm it down somewhat, while I gingerly rested my thumb on top of the short, soft hairs above my sex. My clitoris always got much too sensitive to touch if I came that hard, and would need a few minutes to recover under ideal circumstances.

I laid there, my back on the warm polymer floor, as I slowly felt my circulation and respiration return to normal. My fingers had almost stopped their caresses, and I carefully withdrew them from my opening. I ran them lovingly up and down the sides of my swollen labia and felt the movement relax me even further, draining tension from that part of myself that I had not even known I carried within me.

My eyes twitched behind their lids, and I opened them slowly. I had completely forgotten that the shower turned itself off, and parts of me were almost dry by now. Obviously not all, I thought with a smirk, as I brought my fingers to my lips to slowly clean my juices off of them. I did so very much like the taste of myself, especially when I was like this. I savored the physical reminder of my pleasure very much, in particular the complexity of the taste. It was strong and musky, with tangy aftertones that seemed to excite all the parts of my palate.

Vaguely, I wondered what the taste of another’s arousal would smell and taste like, if every person had their unique taste as much as you could recognize someone by their particular smell. I felt my face heat at the thought, as I had never been granted the favor of having that particular experience. But I fiercely desired to, that much I did know down to the furthest reaches of my mind. That, however, was a concern for another day and time.

It was fairly comfortable in my current position, but I had no intention of falling asleep here and waking up with my back hurting like a herd of battlecruisers had stampeded over me. I managed to lift my upper body off the ground on shaky arms, and gingerly tested the strength in my legs. I definitely did not want to fall back down, and I knew how exhausted my strong leg muscles could be after a particularly powerful release, as I had just now. The combination of lactic acid building up in the muscle, and all the endorphins racing through my bloodstream really made that an iffy proposition I did not care to test too much.

However, there was no avoiding having to do that very thing, and I drew a trembling foot towards me. Its twin joined it underneath my body in the space of a few breaths, and I held my arms against the walls of the hygiene chamber for support as I slowly, carefully, lifted myself. I very nearly fell down twice, but eventually managed to straighten myself.

Within the dimmest recesses of my mind a thought came to me that I probably needed to take another shower, but I felt too damn awesome to care much about it. Right now, all I wanted in the whole universe was to grab a holopad and lay down on my cheap, but functional bed. Besides, I felt so fucking good right now that I probably could have slept on needles, so I doubt my bed would feel like anything but the softest embrace at this particular moment.

I activated a small button on the far wall of the chamber, and warm air streams dried my body and hair the rest of the way. I could still quite clearly sense the smell of my own arousal, but I was satisfied enough that it merely reinforced the languid feeling saturating every inch of my body, rather than inflaming my further passions like it ordinarily would.

Within another few moments my body was dry and I pressed another button on the wall. Opening my mouth, an invisible but barely audible cloud of nanobots came out of a space on the wall and stripped my mouth clean of any microbial contamination. It really was quite magnificent to see how much research had gone into that.

I left the hygiene chamber, pulling out my main holopad on the way to the bed. I sank down onto the mattress, and I had definitely been right. Right now, it felt like being embraced by a sea of soft pillows that drew me in and sheltered me from existence, and I could almost instantly feel the rest of my alertness drain from my body.

I used the last of it to type out a concise but loving message to my family. I am about to go to sleep, and am on schedule to board the transport tomorrow. I love you all so dearly, and I am beyond excited to see everyone again. I missed you more than I can put words to. Love, Evie.

Moments later, as my eyes were drifting closed, I saw a reply that spread a luminous smile across my features. Evie, please travel safely. We, too, missed you every single day you were not here with us. But I am prouder of you than I can express in writing, and can’t wait to hold you in my arms again. Your mom and little Sophie, who hates being called that nowadays, cannot wait to see you, either. Love, dad.


	3. Connection

I awakened early the next morning to the sounds of my favorite music, the harmonious tones gently piercing through the shroud of my near dreamless sleep. A rather pleasant ache suffused my muscles all throughout my body.

Pulling myself up into a sitting position with my abdominal muscles I felt the slightest soreness there; I was glad my frequent exercises had strengthened those sufficiently. Very few things were as annoying as having extremely sore abdominal muscles, and I had certainly given them a workout yesterday.

The thought of it alone sent a pleasant clench deep into the center of my belly, and I shook my head, amused at myself. Evelynne... down, girl. We certainly don’t have time for a repeat of that! I grinned at my internal monologue. I swear, sometimes I was truly insatiable. Really quite distracting when you wanted to get stuff done, that was for sure.

I luxuriously stretched myself and took a moment to admire the lushness of my figure. The soft curves I knew hid a deceptive amount of strength, a testament to the many hours I spent in some of the university training rooms. It was nearly all I did apart from studying and going to class, as I firmly believed it was important to stay in good shape.

It certainly helped after a few hours of exercise like last night, as I was confident within a few minutes of actually getting up, I would feel as good as new. I certainly couldn’t remember the last time I slept that well. Probably whenever I last pleasured myself that well, I imagined.

I let the smirk stay on my lips as I slid out of bed in a smooth motion, and keyed in a double-strength coffee. I slipped into some comfortable clothes suitable for several long days of travel and waiting in the many checkpoints that littered the space stations of the Gallente Federation; a snug polyester shirt that closely traced the contours of my body and a pair of pants that was loose enough to allow me plenty of freedom of movement.

I was practical enough to plan for a possible headlong dash towards the shuttle should I get held back by some bureaucratic tangle. They were certainly a fact of life, and I had to try hard to hold back the soft snickers that threatened to spill from my lips when I thought of how terribly impractically some people dressed. But I was certainly not naming any, I added with a grin twitching at the corners of my mouth.

Lifting the steaming mug of coffee to my lips, I took a sip and immediately felt more alert and awake as the near scalding liquid flowed down my throat. I need to stop drinking so much of this stuff. I knew the caffeine couldn’t possibly work that quickly, and it was more a matter of my body recognizing the habit and being well-conditioned to expect the pleasant boost in performance my favorite drug of choice provided. Still, it was not much of a vice, as far as vice went in this day and age. I definitely would never pass for one of the risque, cool kids. Not that I cared, but just saying.

With a grimace conjured by the expectation of my soon to be produced breakfast, I told the little device to make a pale approximation of scrambled eggs. I supposed the protein was important to keep my muscles nice and strong, and I did not want to be too tempted later on by the far too expensive food that was sold on spaceports and space stations alike.

To be honest, my dreary personal chef probably made food that was just as edible, which was really quite the sad reflection on the food available in public places such as that. Well, one day when I was ruler of the universe I’d certainly change that. Heh.

When my breakfast finished dripping out of the machine I spent a few agonizing minutes shoveling it into my throat. Some days, I could pretend it was like eating a rather flavorless gelatin dessert. Today was not one of those, and I barely kept myself from regurgitating it.

Steeling myself, I managed to keep what I had already eaten down and disposed of the rest of it. I could certainly ignore a bit of unpleasant rumbling in my stomach. I had done that on a regular enough basis that I could almost pretend the slight contractions of my stomach were just a figment of my imagination.

And I would make up for some lost food very easily when I finally got home. My parents certainly weren’t wealthy by any definition of the word, but they did know how to make delicious food out of the most modest ingredients.

I rummaged through my clothes drawer quickly and located a warm verdant green sweatshirt that would add some modesty to my appearance. I certainly liked the feel of my shirts, and how they made my breasts look amazing, for that matter, I mentally added, but I really didn’t care to have half the hormonally challenged students of the University of Caille campus leering at them.

I definitely could do without that today. Or any day. Although, you wouldn’t mind it if Alecto spent a few minutes (or hours, days) drooling over them... the dark corners of my mind added. Alecto was a really cute girl who worked part of the time at the enormous library, but I had never worked up the courage to do anything more than talk to her in a friendly manner. Mostly we talked about books or our studies.

She definitely did know a lot about those, and there were few things in existence that were more of a turn-on for my nerdy brain than that. Alas, I had not really had time, at all, to pursue any relationships while attending my studies here. Possibly now that I had finally graduated it would be an option.

Maybe I would stop by the library for a few minutes after returning my graduation robes for a refund, it certainly couldn’t hurt anything to see if Alecto was there. She really was a very nice person from what I could tell, and it’d be good to stay in contact with her whatever else would happen. I had few enough good friends as it was.

I carefully folded my robes over my arm and left the apartment, the soft click of the door locking behind my heels sounding rather loud in my ears in the absolute silence that reigned this early in the morning. It was still only barely past dawn, and I wouldn’t be too surprised if a good portion of the graduating class was nursing serious hangovers.

The first rays of the sun reaching out from afar made the entire horizon light up in a blueish glow. Supposedly other planets’ suns looked quite different, but I had gotten used to the colors produced by the different composition of the atmosphere on Bourynes VI. I forgot what made the rays of light turn that color this time of day, though. It wasn’t exactly my area of expertise, after all, and atmospheric sciences were not nearly as interesting as disciplines that applied to interstellar travel. But then again I am a little bit biased, I added with a grin.

After a few minutes of walking I reached the store. Most places on the university campus were open all day, every day. There were classes going on every single one of the 27 hours that each day held on Bourynes, and it made sense that a lot of the supporting services were, too. At least in my mind.

Besides, for this particular errand I really didn’t need to interact with any human beings, which was nice this early in the morning. I rather despised small talk with the random person on the street. Such a waste of time.

I walked into the small store and went over to the returns counter in the back. Each of the robes had been imprinted with a digitized bar code, so it was a simple matter of rubbing a finger over the sensor and subsequently holding the garment up to the same scanner. The money then would be automatically credited to my universal account.

Long ago the empires had done away with using their own currencies, which made long-distance travel much more convenient. Because no one sovereign controlled the digital printing presses, so to speak, there wasn’t much currency manipulation going on. CONCORD had some method for making sure that people didn’t do that; how I had no idea, as I also wasn’t an economist. Interesting stuff, though.

I rubbed my finger over the sensor, the abrasive surface shaving a minuscule amount of skin that could then be sequenced for enough individually unique combinations of genetic markers that no two people would have the same readout. It was a fairly fool-proof system, unless somebody managed to steal your clone and paraded it around campus. But then, that was a whole lot of effort for raiding my rather modest credit accounts, so I wasn’t too worried about it.

Still... note to self: when insanely rich, store all clones safely at all times. I managed to slightly suppress my gleeful cackle at that, and grinned instead at my own antics. This, too, Evelynne, is why you don’t have any dates. You’re positively too disturbingly weird. I thought to myself, before adding. And, these frequent internal conversations probably aren’t making the eligible bachelors line up, either. That was fine, though, it did make my life a lot more amusing. Worth the trade-off, in my mind.

I scanned the robe next, and deposited into a small container that had opened up in the wall. It vanished with a soft noise, and I checked my holopad for the credit transaction.

200 ISK, huh? I scoffed a little, considering I had paid about four times that amount two days ago. But still, there wasn’t much to be done about that, and I supposed I should be happy with getting at least some money back for it. I sighed.

Having 1178 ISK in your account wasn’t a particularly glowing feeling. I needed a job, badly, that was for sure. That amount would maybe pay for the basic necessities for a month, so it didn’t really give me much room to play with.

I turned around and left the store again, heading towards the enormous engineering library near my dorms. I could only stay for a few minutes before I’d have to go back and pack for my trip. Still, it would be worth seeing if Alecto was there, just to say hi for a few minutes and exchange contact information.

I think she had mentioned in the past that she still had another year to go before she graduated, but you never knew whether we’d end up working close enough together, location-wise, to see about developing a good friendship. Stop overthinking it, though, I chastised myself. We’ll see what happens when we get there.

I managed to somewhat calm my slightly elevated heartbeat, but not as much as I had wanted to. So by the time I arrived at the library I was quite nervous, the queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach definitely not helping matters.

As I clenched my fingers into a fist and relaxed them again to release some of my built-up tension I felt a slight dampness on the insides of my palms. I rubbed them on the soft material of my pants to at least get some semblance of control. It certainly wouldn’t do to give clear evidence to Alecto of the fact that I was extremely nervous about talking to her. I doubt she’d miss me being nervous, but I can at least avoid the really obvious tell-tale signs.

The library door sensors recognized my movement and opened the heavy wooden doors. I did so love these kinds of traditions. It added a nice, old-fashioned touch to a library, I thought. I’d seen pictures of centuries old libraries like that, and it did gave them a certain charm.

Walking through the opening, I entered the foyer of the library and saw the vast interior displayed before my eyes. My gaze was instantly drawn to the far left section, where I knew Alecto worked during the mornings and evenings.

I skipped down the steps of one of the staircases that went to the lower level where many of the applied sciences could be found. Somehow, actually being here part of my nervousness had drained away and replaced itself with a strange sense of elation. It was quite odd, really. I never skip. What is wrong with me? I had to shake my head at myself. My emotional states could be quite drastically different, even changing withing short amounts of time on occasions such as this.

It seemed only moments before I had crossed the hundreds of feet that separated the entrance from the starship engineering section of the library.

I glanced around, excitedly, but failed to see the person I was looking for. I could feel my heart sink somewhere into the black depths of despair that had become my stomach. Hmm, maybe she is in one of the side rooms. I suppose it’s worth checking...I thought, with a sigh.

I checked the first little study room and found it empty. The second room had a pair of students in it, but no Alecto. The third empty yet again. I had to walk over to the opposite side of the section to find the last trio of study rooms. Room four and five were both empty, probably because of the hour.

But as I walked far enough down the tiny hallway to see into the last room, my breath caught in my throat as I finally saw her. Alecto... Okay, so maybe I do have a little bit of a crush on her. I almost imperceptibly shook my head at myself. But can you blame me? Honestly?

She was using one of the small access ports to the library data system. The way she was standing, bent over forward, standing rather than sitting, really showed off her figure. And definitely to her advantage.

My eyes were drawn to her gorgeous hair, first, as it was one of my favorite things about her by far. That, and her entire facial structure. But her hair... It was a shiny platinum blond color, almost pure white in its virtual absence of color, and looked as fine as if it was made out of the thinnest strands of spidersilk alloy in existence. She was wearing it in a short but exquisitely complex braid that reached down to her shoulder blades. The braid looked like it formed a geometrical pattern on the back of her head where the different strands came together. It suited her. Very much so, actually.

Her clothes were hued a dark burgundy, and fit her slender body closely. From this angle, I could barely discern the gentle swell of firm breasts. They were not nearly as large as my own, but they suited her frame perfectly. My gaze traveled lower, following her curves down and resting quite a bit longer than absolutely necessary on her wonderfully shaped behind. Just rounded enough to give it shape. A mouthwatering amount, to be exact.

I felt my face heat, as well as other parts of my anatomy for that matter. Evie, stop looking at the girl like she’s a meal and you haven’t eaten for a month. My blush deepened. I couldn’t really help it that she looked so utterly divine to my eyes. I had always had a strong appreciation for the female form, that was for sure.

I gathered my resolve and tore my eyes away from her for a brief moment, stepping the last few meters to the entrance of the room. I paused for a breath or two before knocking gently on the frame of the door opening.

Alecto turned around at that, only somewhat startled to be disturbed like that. I couldn’t help but smile warmly as she did. A smile that was instantly met by its sister on her face. And what a smile she has, too. My inner voice decided to pile some additional compliments on top.

Her face lit up almost from within when she smiled like that, and it burned brightly with a radiance I had rarely seen on any human being. Even from several meters away I could see that it easily reached her eyes, as they shone with mirth and a spark of inquisitive intelligence that was very much attractive in my mind.

“Hi.” I spoke much too softly as my voice failed me. I rallied, and repeated my greeting more firmly. “Hi, Alecto!”

She cocked her head to the side ever so slightly, in apparent amusement. I could barely make out the slight creases around her eyes and mouth from what I assumed was her favorite expression. “Hey, Evelynne. You’re here earlier than normal.” A barely visible grin touched her lips. “Were you missing my company that badly?”

I felt more blood flow towards my cheeks, slightly embarrassed. Deciding honesty was probably the best course of action, I figured I’d go for it. “Ah, well, somewhat.” I stumbled a bit over my words. “I mean, yes. Yes I did. Miss you.” I shook my head at myself. “Ugh, look at me babbling over here.”

Alecto laughed, the sound like music in my ears. “Oh, don’t worry about that... I like it when you’re all flustered like that.” She looked at my face for a moment, studying. “The blush matches your hair quite nicely.”

I scowled at that. “Ha ha. Very funny, making fun of my hair.” I shook my head in mock sadness, now. “And here I was, trying to be nice to you, and honest, and open. And you torture me like that.” I grasped my hands to my chest. “Oh, my heart will never survive the insult that was done to it today...”

Alecto grinned back at me. “You’re cute, Evelynne. Too much so for your own good.” There was a definite twinkle in her eye now. “But you didn’t just come here to tell me that, right?”

I nodded, biting my lip as I did. “Well, yes. I just graduated, and I’m about to leave this world to go home and visit my family.” Her face fell a little, even though she tried to hide it. “And well, I have always very much enjoyed coming here. And not a small part of that was because of, well, you.”

I blushed for real now, but pressed on regardless. I really wanted to get this off my mind before she responded. I could tell by the, rather adorable, expression on her face that she was listening raptly to what I was saying, though, and this made me feel almost infinitely better. “I don’t really know how to say this... I have certainly never been very good with words.”

Alecto’s eyes softened yet more as I said that. When I paused, she spoke only a few beats of my erratically contracting heart later, her voice warm and gentle. “Oh, Evelynne. You really don’t have to worry so much. I have no desire whatsoever within the very depths of my being to cause you pain, and there’s absolutely no need for you to be concerned for my response. I really do promise I won’t bite.” Another twinkle, followed by a slight wink. “Unless you want me to, of course.”

She had moved closer as she spoke, and we were only hand’s breadths apart now. Close enough that I could have counted the almost invisibly fine lashes that framed her piercing green eyes. Their color reminded me strongly of the seas of grass near my home on Vylade, though they were slightly darker now than I remembered? But I had never been this close to her, either, so it could very well have been a trick of the light.

I could faintly smell her breath. I couldn’t quite place what its smell reminded me of, but it smelled good, better than good, and I was starting to feel somewhat lightheaded. Swallowing convulsively, I tried to recapture my earlier train of thought. Her last teasing comment had completely derailed that train, and sent it into a wormhole to k-space. It is ridiculous how much of an effect her proximity has on me. This cannot be normal, right? I was glad my face had already achieved its maximum blush intensity. At least, I hoped so for the sake of what shreds remained of my already exhausted dignity.

After a few more seconds of mental flailing I managed to find the fraying threads of my earlier thoughts. “Ah, umm, no thanks. I don’t think that will be necessary right now.” I somehow managed a smile, that I very much hoped didn’t look like a maniacal grimace. I didn’t quite trust myself right now, that was a fact.

I paused for a moment again to gasp in some fresh air, restore some badly needed oxygen to my brain. “Now hush, Alecto,” I added with a smile, “You’re making this even harder. It’s really quite diabolical. But I digress. Again.” Then, in a mumble. “You do have that effect on me, distracting me...” I shook my head again.

“What I wanted to say, though, is that I am leaving here later today, and I very much like you. As a person, and a friend.” And possibly more, I added mentally. Almost out loud, too, but I did retain enough of my senses not to cross that line today. “You’re amazingly intelligent, and I always loved talking to you, hearing you tell little anecdotes you had heard or read about, or reference some obscure manuscript nobody in their right mind would know about.” That brought a soft smile to my lips just thinking about it.

“It really has meant a lot to me these past few years, to see you here every day and talk a bit here and there. And I just wanted to tell you that, before I left... That I really valued you and didn’t want to lose you as a friend.” I paused only a moment, to catch my breath. My eyes wanted to lower themselves, to look at my hands, or anywhere else but her face. But I found I really couldn’t look away, and my resolve to try was rapidly fading as she held my gaze with her own. From the twenty or so centimeters distance that still separated us I could almost see her mind at work within the depths of her eyes, processing and deliberating on what I was saying. It was both incredibly scary, and extremely attractive.

My hand unconsciously went to my face, the tips of my fingers rubbing the skin of my scalp like I often did when my mind was deeply engaged. “So really,” I continued, “I was hoping to talk to you for a bit today, and make sure we knew how to contact one another to keep in touch. If you want that, too, that is...” My voice trailed off at that, hopefully yet nervously.

I could see some shadow passing over her eyes for the barest of moments, but it was gone before I could even really consciously acknowledge its existence. It was replaced by a small sparkle, which was then accompanied by one of the most lovely smiles I had yet seen from her. It was enough to cause my heartrate to increase yet more, and I could barely hear myself think over the thundering rush of blood in my head.

She reached out with both hands, then, and ran warm fingers in small circles over my forearms. The touch sent shivers of delight up my arms, and I could feel my eyelids flutter a bit in response to the sensation. “Of course.” She smiled. “There is nothing I would like more than the very thing you just proposed. I wasn’t quite sure when you would be leaving here, but I do admit being quite distraught that I might never see you again. And not knowing where you lived, it was hard to, shall we say, force the issue from my side.”

Her right hand reached up and she quite tenderly brushed the back of her fingers up my freckle-covered cheekbone. “And I must say, what you just did...” She paused. “Was really quite courageous, and it must not...” She swallowed the rest of her sentence. “I’m so very glad you did.”

She raised herself on her toes ever so slightly, then, to make up for the 5 centimeters she was shy of my 169 centimeters in length, our faces even closer now. Alecto’s soft, silky smooth skin was so close that I could feel the heat her body was generating, and my eyes had trouble focusing clearly she was so close. Is she going to kiss me? Am I going to kiss her? My mind was racing everywhere, and I settled for just waiting, for now.

My breaths were shallow, fast. I could tell that hers were somewhat more controlled, although not by much if any objective observers had been present. They weren’t, so I supposed it was a rather moot distinction. Shut up, mind. Where is an off button when you want one? I grumbled mentally. Out of the corner of my eye I saw her tongue, dark red and delicious, leave her mouth, slathering her lips in a thin coating of saliva.

I couldn’t help but whimper at that sight, as I definitely did not need the mental connections that particular act brought with. Part of me felt like I really should act, but it was like I was absolutely paralyzed with sensory overload. All I could think about, consider, process, was Alecto. Her warmth that wrapped me in an almost physical embrace, her intoxicating smell... The soft feel of her skin on mine, and the way she looked right now.

Words failed me to properly convey the many specific things that made her inordinately beautiful to me. All I knew right now was that I could never again think of Beauty in my mind without picturing the way her fair lashes fluttered around dilated pupils, a warm and intelligent light still reflected to me in her eyes, the soft flush that suffused her cheeks with life and vitality, though nowhere near as much as the physical manifestation of red that I must currently be. Alecto’s skin was several tones darker than mine and masked the additional flow of blood through her facial capillaries much more effectively.

She was just looking at me, now. Her eyes pinning mine as surely as if they had been shot by a large caliber railgun, she looked for something in my face for an indeterminate moment. I couldn’t have told you how long it was that we stood like that, whether ten seconds or fifteen minutes. My vision had receded until I could literally not make out anything but her, a thin strand of her pale hair framing the left side of her face marking the outer boundary of my narrowed field of vision on that end.

“So very glad.” She whispered, almost inaudibly. I could not have heard it if she had been any further away, and even now I almost didn’t know if I had simply imagined it. Finally, after a seeming eternity she came to some conclusion. I could tell by the way determination filled the liquid green of her eyes, and I swallowed reflexively once more.

The corners of her generous mouth curved up ever so slightly, bending her lips into another smile, continuous yet distinct from the one gracing her lips before. “I am going to kiss you now,” she murmured, and did.

Soft, wet, slippery warmth was the first thing I felt, and it was accompanied by a strong, distinct flavor that I somehow categorized as Alecto in the corners of my mind. Her warm lips on mine felt better than anything I could remember feeling or doing to myself, because it wasn’t just me doing it. Her kisses were tentative, yet exploratory and slightly probing, little nips on my upper or lower lip that made my eyes close and roll up in their sockets with undisguised pleasure. I felt the slightest flick of her tongue brushing against my lips, then, and my lips parted for it, knowing what she sought.

I could feel her hands snaking around my head, fingers tangling themselves in the shorter hair on the back of my head, her nails sending shivers through my scalp, electrifying the nervous endings that were so very abundant there. In return, I wrapped both arms around her lithe frame, gently caressing her back through the shirt she wore. One hand happened to find the bare skin near the bottom where her shirt had ridden up ever so slightly, and my fingertips tentatively grazed over it, feeling goosebumps form in their wake.

I moaned into her mouth for real, then, thankful the sound was inaudible or I would for sure have made a spectacle of us. My tongue gingerly met her probing appendage, testing it for a miniscule fraction of a second before acceding dominance. Alecto deepened and intensified the kiss, then, pressing herself into me completely, her tongue now freely exploring the interior of my mouth. Just the way it teasingly danced over my gums, or the roof of my mouth felt utterly divine, and I never wanted that to end.

I could feel the hard points of her nipples against the softness of my breasts as one of her long legs slid in between mine, and I couldn’t control another shiver of delight that went straight downstairs, where I imagined I was now getting very worked up. I could feel, rather than hear, little gasps coming from Alecto’s mouth, too, which made me pull her into me even more. Now feeling her entire body against me, surrounding me, fed even more fuel to my inflamed senses and I felt like I was drowning in her.

I vaguely thought that I hadn’t had time to draw a breath, but that hardly seemed to matter much compared to how fucking good it felt, to be here, kiss her. My chest heaved, though, as my lungs struggled to gasp in air, yet all that did was suck in huge mouths full of her scent, further intoxicating me.

We stood there like that for what seemed ever, just kissing and acquainting ourselves with each other’s taste, feel, smell and presence. And I never wanted that to end. But sadly, after many more moments I really did begin to feel blackish spots intruding upon what was left of my vision, however blurry it currently was, and I had to break our kiss to gasp in a huge, agonizingly Alecto-less gulp of air.

“I’m sorry.” I whispered then. “Ran out of air.”

Her eyes were almost black such a dark shade of green they were, and her pupils had fully dilated showing a tiny ring of color around them. “That’s okay. I was getting a little carried away with you, myself, us, there.” Her breaths that I could feel through the expansion and contraction of her breasts against my own were ragged, uneven. “I have never...” Her voice trailed off, tinged with wonder. “You are an amazing kisser. And kissee, for that matter.” Her smile was back, teasing as always.

I blushed, although you probably couldn’t tell right now with how flush I was with arousal. “Ah, you’re quite excellent yourself, Alecto. I have never done that before, but it felt really quite natural. To me. To do that, I mean.” I truly turned scarlet now, and lowered my face into the crook of her neck. It felt amazingly warm, as the rest of her, and remarkably comfortable.

I felt, rather than saw her grin. “Hiding, are we? Well, that’s okay. The color does suit you, as I may have mentioned before.”

A laugh rumbled in my throat, and I peered up at her. It was a bit unusual for me to look up at her face, rather than slightly down as I normally did. Unusual, but good, in a way. It really didn’t bother me when she teased me, though I hated it very much generally. I could just tell that she didn’t really mean it, that it was something she really liked, actually, and that made all the difference. At least, that was my explanation, and I was sticking to it.

“You have, just a few times.” My eyes sparkled back at her. “And I think that answered my question...” I paused for effect. “Very eloquently, I might add. You have a gifted tongue. It really is quite persuasive, I must say.”

She scowled at me playfully, then. “Quite talented, too.” Her eyes fixed on mine, shredding any mental defenses I may have otherwise tried to summon. Not that that was altogether necessary as resistance to her advances was the furthest from my mind right now. Her warm breath mingled with mine. “It can’t wait to taste more of you.” Her lips closed on my jawline, nibbling. “More of all of you.” The fleetest touch of her tongue on my earlobe made me moan.

I could see her eyes, darkened as they were with passion. For me. My heart almost literally made a back flip at that realization, that she really desired me that much. Her voice, barely audible in my ear, added playfully. “You cannot begin to imagine.” She nipped my ear. “How many times I have wanted.” Another kiss. “To do this, and taste you, and explore your body with any means I have available to me.” Her hand slipped down underneath my shirt, caressing my upper back between the shoulders. “With my fingers, and mouth.”

Her passion-filled gaze still held mine, piercing in its intensity. “You are absolutely perfect, Evelynne, and my greatest desire is to worship you. Mind and body both, as they are sublimely beautiful and one whole in my eyes.”

I gasped a little at her words, and the extremely vivid mental images they were producing. “I had no idea. You certainly masked it well enough. I mean, I knew you liked me well enough, but...” I knew I was rambling, but couldn’t stop myself.

Alecto silenced me with the touch of her soft lips on mine. “Oh hush, you.” Her eyes smiled at me, warmly. “I do so love it when you’re all flustered like that.” The pads of her thumbs caressed the soft skin of my face, rubbing small circles tenderly over my blushing skin. The gesture touched me, made me feel at ease, and seemed to ever so slightly soothe a longing I had rarely acknowledged within my self. “No, I have wanted to do this for nearly four years...” Her voice trailed off before continuing, more softly now. “I didn’t for two reasons. First, I wanted to know you exceedingly well, really learn who you truly are, what you are like, before I convinced myself that I wanted this.” Her eyes flicked between the two of us. “Second, I could tell that you needed to focus on your studies, and I did not want to place you in a position where you felt conflicted. I know how terribly hard you worked to be here, and how much it meant to you, and I thought the best way to show you that I cared for you was to support you in that.” Her voice skipped a little at her admission. “Because I really do. Care about you, I mean. You’ve become quite special to me, and I cannot begin to tell you how distraught I would have been if you had not come here today...”

She looked so vulnerable right then that it summoned a powerful need and want to cradle and protect that part of her, to shelter her. Tightening my embrace of her slender body, I placed a few soft kisses on her high cheekbones, rubbing soothing circles on her back and neck. “Oh, Alecto, I had not before just now dared to hope that your feelings towards me were that powerful. And rest assured, they are mirrored in my own, as I have never met anyone who is more beautiful in character, mind and body as you are, or as funny and intelligent. There was a reason I spent so many hours down here, rather than studying on my own in my room.”

I hesitated, only for a moment. “And you were right, I think. I am not sure if I had been ready for something such as this a few years ago. I, for one, loved having the chance to learn of who you are inside over such an extended period of time. It has really impressed upon me what a remarkable person you are, and it makes me desire you, all of you, that much more strongly.”

I used my nails to lightly scratch the sensitive skin of her scalp right underneath her braid, delighting in the way it made her shiver. A blush returned to my face. “I hope that you enjoyed our kiss, though it seemed you did. I have never really...”

Her warm voice cut me off. “Hush, Evie. You have nothing to be uncertain about. That was, by far, the best kiss I have ever experienced.” She whispered, then. “It made me so aroused that I almost made a puddle on the floor here.” Her fingers stroked along my jaw. “It was beyond intense, and I can’t wait to do it again. And more. I have wanted to see the exquisite form you hide under these sweaters of yours forever.” She smiled at the last statement, disarmingly.

I nodded back at her, only somewhat embarrassed. I did feel much more at ease around Alecto’s teasing compared to anyone else, except possibly my family. Though not about these particular matters. That’d be quite awkward... “And I yours.” My eyes raked down her lithe body, drinking in her slender curves. “How do you even get into those clothes? They look poured on you, I swear.” I grinned. I quite obviously didn’t mind too much.

I shifted my legs a little, and instantly turned beet red at the soft squish that could be heard from below as the slight movement released a rather prodigious amount of my juices, completely soaking my underwear and making the tiniest movement of my currently quite inflamed nether lips quite audible. Shit, kill me now. Please. I groaned in mortification and buried my face in the crook of Alecto’s neck once again. I could get used to this, though, I thought to myself, absently.

Alecto chuckled at that and patted me on the back in a comforting manner. “I’m glad I have that effect on you, Evie. It is a rather wonderful compliment that your body has paid me.” She lowered her head and rubbed her cheek against my temple in gentle affection. “Though we probably should calm ourselves a little, considering the location. It is very early so there is barely anyone here, but still.” She grinned at me. “I’d rather not get, shall we say, interrupted.”

She once again laced her fingers through my short hair, and I had to close my eyes at how good that simple gesture felt. I really hadn’t been touched very much these past few years, even though I normally craved the closeness very much. The longing for that had faded over time, but as I was realizing now only temporarily. And it came back with a vengeance, apparently.

I was still staring into her eyes, and she in mine. I could lose myself in those green orbs of hers, as I had lost myself to her embrace moments before. When we looked at each other that intensely it just felt like everything else ceased to pale in comparison to the magnitude of that connection, almost as if I could see her living mind right behind the darkness of her still-dilated pupils. Her warm nature, curiosity and intelligence almost seemed to me to be physically manifest in her gaze, although that may have been one conclusion that wasn’t warranted by the facts. Right now, I didn’t quite care as I knew for a fact that she possessed every one of those qualities in spades.

I smiled warmly at her, then, and pressed my lips to hers for once. Her kisses had caught me somewhat off guard at first, and I wanted to show her that I was not at all hesitant about doing this wonderful act. Alecto moaned softly against my lips as they placed gentle nibbles and licks upon hers.

A minute later I had to pull back reluctantly to catch another ragged breath, whispering. “I just wanted to taste you again, and show you I desire this as much as you do.” I thought for a moment. “What hour of the day will you be done working?”

Alecto answered instantly. “About two hours from now. It’s the one advantage of early morning shifts,” she added with a grin, “at least that is what I tell myself to get through them some days.” Her face got an adorable pout on it. “It will be so much more tedious once you’re no longer here every day. Even the days we did not speak your presence was a comfort, and a sight for sore eyes.” She smiled at me, before adding. “You really are remarkably beautiful, you know. Especially so since you don’t really seem to be aware of it all the time. It makes it more... honest? I guess? I’m not altogether sure, I just know it adds to your appeal that you don’t seem to be trying at all to be.” A slight kiss. “So.” Another. “Very ravishing.”

I blushed again, absently noting that I must be setting a new record. Even for me this was a lot, although in my defense, I did not get my proverbial, and possibly literal, pants charmed off every day by a girl, no, woman, this attractive. “As are you.” I valiantly rebutted her compliments, trying to ignore my heated face.

Slender fingers felt her braid. “I do very much love the way you’re wearing your hair today, Alecto. It definitely suits your features, and the simple elegance is very appealing.” I reveled in its softness, too. It really felt like touching the finest strands of platinum hued silk.

I slowly straightened myself, ruefully. “I suppose I should probably let you get back to work. I have quite a few hours before my shuttle leaves later this afternoon, though, and I would be delighted to spend some time with you when you’re free. Perhaps we could eat something and drink a cup of good coffee together, make it a date?” I added a hopeful smile to that, and quite possibly made it the tiniest bit cuter than it needed to be. It certainly can’t hurt, she seems to find me almost irresistible when I do that. I grinned mentally at the thought. No, I didn’t really believe in playing fair when it came to issues such as this.

My internal grin must have showed through, as Alecto responded with an amused laugh. “Evelynne. You are such a troublemaker.” Her eyes sparkled. “There’s really no need to try to be extra appealing to me, as there is no force in the universe that would make me say no to that. I have nothing of importance planned the rest of the day, and if you will have me I will spend the rest of it with you, until it is time for you to leave.”

I smiled happily at that. “That sounds utterly divine.” I rubbed my nose against hers lightly, in simple affection. “I know what I shall do now, then. I will return to my apartment and finish packing my belongings, so I do not have to waste any more of my day with trivialities. I certainly want to maximize the time I may spend with you.” I winked at her. “I am all for efficiency, you know.”

Alecto smiled warmly. “I know you are, and it’s one of the things I most appreciate about you, Evie.” She grinned at me, then. “And stop talking like that, it makes me want to jump you again and we really do not need to be doing that here.” She shook her head slightly. “I don’t know quite why it is so irresistibly attractive when you talk all precise and engineer-y like that, but it is.” She shrugged. “Doesn’t really matter, though, and I doubt you’d complain a bit.” She raised her eyebrow at me, as if daring me to contradict her.

“Not at all!” I hastened to add, with a sparkle in my eye. “Well, I better get my things together, then, and allow you to finish your work shift.” I paused for a moment. “But first, I want another one of these.” And I pressed my lips to hers again, losing myself in the overwhelming sensation of her, of my Alecto, yet again. My entire perception reduced to her smell and taste, the soft velvet skin of her lips, the wetness of her tongue and the delicious little noises I felt rather than heard her make into my mouth.

My hands snaked around her back, holding her against me as I sought to provide her with the same overload of sensation that I was experiencing. As much as I was able to, though from what I could tell I was altogether more effective than I had dared hope. I’m a damn good kisser, if I do say so myself, I thought proudly.

After a minute I withdrew hesitantly, not really wanting our embrace to end but acceding to the burning need for air in my lungs. I grinned at her slightly disheveled face, which yet added more to her already significant beauty in the eyes of at least one beholder. “This is good practice for holding my breath. I shall be an expert diver in no time whatsoever if we continue doing this on a regular basis.” I chuckled a little, and Alecto joined me upon hearing my words. “Should be quite useful, no?”

“Oh, yeah. I’d definitely put that on my resume if I was you. Just hope they won’t ask you exactly how you train for that. May not be the most, shall we say, appropriate topic during an interview.” Her arms hugged her slender frame to mine once more, before slowly releasing her hold on me. “I guess we should let go for now...” She frowned every so subtly, then brightened. “But it’s only for two hours, and what are two hours in the span of a lifetime?”

I shook my head at her. “Right. And we’ll have most of the rest of the day to spend together. I am already looking forward to our first real activity together, that will just be the two of us. A date.” I felt tingles travel along my skin at the thought. I was slightly nervous at the prospect; though, mostly at my inexperience with such activities rather than the fact that I was doing one with Alecto. “She’d never hurt me.” I mumbled softly, and instantly turned crimson when i realized I had really said that out loud, instead of in my head as I had meant to.

She just smiled at me more luminously than before, if that was possible, and whispered in reply. “I wouldn’t, not intentionally and never permanently.” Her slender fingers lifted my chin until I once again met her gaze. “Evelynne, I really do not believe that it is altogether necessary, or inevitable, that we should hurt those we care for in this life. At least, I have lived my life that way and have tried, and will continue to try, my very hardest to avoid this.” Her gaze was solemn, like a vow.

I simply nodded at her. “Thank you. Those are remarkably appealing words, and they ring true to my ears and mind. I will make sure to live up to that maxim, myself.” Adding with a serious tone of my own. “I think you deserve no less than that. It is only fair to repay such admirable principles with the same.” My fingers ran along the sides of her face, the touch light and tender.

I could see her close her eyes momentarily in simple bliss. It certainly seemed like Alecto wasn’t used to being touched so much, either. Perhaps she was a bit like me in that respect, as she certainly seemed to enjoy it a great deal. At least, when I did it. It wasn’t like I knew how she’d respond to anyone else. It was a bit hard to say, therefore, whether it was just how she was with me, or if it was a more general trait of hers that I was trying to identify and characterize. But you’re digressing.... again. I scoffed at myself.

I stepped back then, releasing my light hold on her with a trailing touch of my fingers on the lightly tanned skin of her arms. My hand touched a strand of her platinum hair that had come loose from her braid during our passionate, heated series of kisses and placed it behind her ear. I smiled at Alecto. “You may have to freshen up a tad before you’re spotted by anyone else.” I couldn’t help the proud grin on my face, then. “You do look slightly mussy, though it is very appealing in my mind.”

She raised an eyebrow at me. “Well, you’re hardly one to talk. You look like you just spent three hours in a passionate make-out session.” She grinned. “I got a bit carried away playing with your hair, and you’re still quite flushed.” Alecto shook her head bemusedly. “How about you head over to the washrooms first, and freshen up a tad. I’ll finish what I was doing before you interrupted me, and tidy up my appearance myself right after.”

I nodded that this was a good idea. “Alright, that sounds like a sound idea.” I checked my holopad quickly. “And I’ll collect you from this place of oppression in about one hundred and twelve minutes?”

Alecto shook her head at me. “Silly engineers, always so precise with the time. But yes, that sounds good.” She tenderly kissed me now, much more chastely though with no less feeling. “Now go, and run your errands!”

I nodded. Touching her hand one last time as I turned around to leave, I felt a momentary pang of loss as our fingers came apart. I glanced over my shoulder, and my warm smile was met by one of Alecto’s. The next few weeks are going to be insanely hard, I thought. But that’s for another time to worry about, Evelynne. First, we completely and utterly enjoy the rest of our day. The actual trip is plenty long enough to miss Alecto, so we won’t start it now.

I walked into the small washroom in this part of the library, gazing at my reflection for a moment, studying it curiously. Alecto was definitely right; while I had no experience with intimate encounters and couldn’t tell you how one looked after one, per se... I imagined it should look exactly like I did, right now.

A faint sheen of perspiration clung to my skin, making it rather shiny. Added to the flush that still reddened my face and neck, and the state of my hair, and most people probably would guess what I had just been doing. I didn’t particularly care, but I might as well clean up my appearance the slightest bit before heading out of here.

I splashed some cool water in my face, the feel of it soothing on my hot skin. I used one of the towels to wipe off the excess moisture, and dabbed my neck and throat for good measure. Not having any hair utensils with me, I couldn’t do more than try and fix my unruly locks with my fingers, but that’d have to do for now. My hair was slightly longer on the right side, and shielded part of my face. Also quite useful for hiding when you blush...

And I did not need to touch myself to know that my underwear was absolutely drenched in my passion. I’d definitely need to shower quickly when I got back, as nothing was more annoying than walking around for two hours being that wet down there. Not to mention having people hear what Alecto did. I didn’t care around her, and she didn’t seem to, either... but I’d need a serious earthquake if anyone else heard that. And I hadn’t quite mastered the art of summoning tectonic shifts at will. I grinned a little at myself, then. At least my nipples had softened enough by now that they weren’t obviously poking through my sweater, visible for all to gaze upon. Really did not want that, either.

I had just about fixed all I could, here, and headed out of the washroom. Right before I left this area of the library, I spotted Alecto from afar and couldn’t help the grin that lit up my face. I could see even from here that it was met by one of hers, and what looked like a slight wink. Before I knew what I was doing I had waved at her, and blushed again. I’m acting like a lovestruck teenager. I sighed a little at myself. Oh well, there really was not much to do about that. I wasn’t one to be guided by my emotions, but I did trust mine enough in these types of matters to know that it was completely useless to talk yourself into how you should be feeling, instead of just accepting your feelings for what they were. I’d simply have to see what happened, and make the most of the situation. And so far, it was turning out magnificently.

A/N: I realize I can get fairly verbose... And writing this after I have written 2 full chapters already, I can say that the word count adds up fast, so it may turn out to be a giant story (those are my favorites, by the way, in case you could not tell already ;-) ).

Maybe I should add way-points later so the impatient among us can skip to where the action exists more heavily. I will probably do that if there’s a few chapters of mostly romance/friendship/family stuff and mostly character development coming up. I do hope that some among you like reading the slower chapters, too. They aren’t always easy to write, but I do enjoy them a lot as they shine much more light upon the motivations behind other actions. But I realize not everyone’s cup of tea is exactly that, which is why I want to try and accommodate that diversity of interests as much as possible.


	4. Declarations

I reached my apartment only a few minutes later, the happiness suffusing me making me literally skip across campus in record time. A few early risers gave me looks at that, but right now I did not care in the slightest. I don't remember my smile even being broader just walking around. Of course, I wasn't just walking around, now. I had purpose. A very specific purpose, too.

I started stripping off my simple outfit before the door to my room even closed, rushing into the hygiene chamber immediately after. I just wanted a quick wash, now. I could feel that I was still incredibly aroused, my underwear thoroughly soaked. A quick test confirmed it, as first one, then two slender fingers easily slid inside myself. I gasped aloud at the sensations that caused, but reluctantly withdrew my hand after a few moments. I did not want to get distracted, as I had things to do, preparations to make. And I needed to finish packing. I washed myself quickly, making sure to remove enough of the wetness still seeping from my core to at least make wearing clothes more comfortable. A quick orgasm would have been a luxury, one I would eagerly grant myself under other circumstances. But today I didn't mind the slow burn of my arousal, welcomed it rather. It was a constant reminder of her, and I relished any reminder of her right now.

I finished my shower in minutes feeling rather refreshed and invigorated. I was barely out from underneath the spray of water before the air jets dried my body. I quickly threw my clothes from before inside the little sterilizer unit to clean them, and dressed myself in a fairly similar outfit to what I had worn earlier in the day. I did spend some time leashing the chaos that usually was my short hair, wrestling it into some semblance of order. I scrutinized myself, I did look rather good when I tried, even if I wasn't an entirely unbiased observer. But then, who really was? Hush, self. I thought to the stupid mental grin that was going on in my head. You're distracting.

I had selected a rather simple synthetic shirt, a combination of orange and azure coloring it in intricate patterns. The patterns of the shirt seemed to flow around my curves, accentuate them further, which I didn't mind in the least. Certainly not today, as I had no qualms with making myself a little more attractive to Alecto's eyes. I knew she liked the curves of my body, and there really was no harm in placing a little emphasis on my sizable breasts, was there? I grinned a little at that. The shirt really did fit rather tightly, but it was more a comfortable snugness than an uncomfortable one, thankfully. Comfort did rank very high on my list of priorities in clothing.

I wore the same pants from earlier as I didn't really own many pairs. They were snug around the waist and hips, loosening more around my lower thigh and calf. And they did do a rather good job of calling attention to the soft curves of my hips and behind. I twirled around slowly, appraising myself critically. Hmm, yes. I do look rather good... I hope she'll like it. I smiled. Though from earlier I think Alecto's as taken by me as I am by her, so I doubt she would find me unattractive. Still, doesn't hurt to use all your assets.

I spent a minute studying my facial features, trying to decide whether I should add some cosmetics or not. My face was heart-shaped, the skin fair and dusted liberally with freckles. My red hair was cut rather short, longer on the right side of my face where it covered most of my cheek and ear. My cheekbones were rather high, giving definite shape to the softer contours of my face. Almond-shaped eyes such a pale shade of blue that it was nearly gray stared back at me inquisitively, as always. I raised one thin eyebrow at myself, as in challenge. I had two facial piercings, currently; two thin rings in my left eyebrow and one below my full lips. I was rather pleased with the overall appearance.

Satisfied with my appearance, I turned into a virtual whirlwind of activity as I straightened up in the apartment, folding clothes as I went and packing them tightly in a medium size suitcase. I had very little possessions here, a combination of my rather frugal nature, and simple lack of ISK to buy much stuff. There were a few material objects here that I was attached to, and I packed them away securely in layers of clothing, protecting them from the accidental bump they may get during my trip. Mostly holographic pads with pictures of my family, my collection of holopads that had my favorite novels and technical manuals on them, the electronic highlighter that Alecto had given me as a present last year... It really was an extremely useful gift, and one of the first physical tokens of her liking me. I had treasured it, even before I really realized how much she really meant to me.

It looked a bit worn from heavy use, but that was unavoidable with how much reading I did. And, I doubt she'd mind the fact that I actually have used the hell out of her present since receiving it. I smiled fondly at the memory. It had been a surprise gift; she had just handed it over to me, almost shyly, one day when we were talking in the library, simply adding. "I noticed that you never used one of these, and they're so incredibly useful that I wanted to give one to you." She blushed a bit, only barely discernible through her olive complexion, and I had thought it curious, and quite charming, at the time that she was so worried handing it to me. Almost as if it had been more than just a present.

I had simply beamed her a wide smile, hugging her spontaneously as it had been the first gift that truly meant something to me that hadn't been presented by someone in my own family. I also hadn't recognized, way back then, what my body had already known. It craved her touch rather insistently, and simply holding her in my arms, even for a 'friendly' hug had felt incredibly good, and comfortable at the same time. I probably held it too long to be wholly appropriate, but Alecto never pulled away or indicated she didn't like it.

Eventually, I had pulled away from it, whispering my thanks to her. "This is wonderful, Alecto. I will make sure to put it to good use. In fact..." I pulled out the pad I had been reading, eagerly trying out my present. "Let's see how it worked." I probably had the silliest grin on my face as I said that, as she only barely kept from laughing at my expression. She instead shook her head, looking at me with a warm smile on her face. "You're a great person to give gifts to, you know that, Evelynne? Most people aren't quite as appreciative of gestures such as this..." I had merely smiled in response, not really knowing what to say. But silence between us had never really been awkward, one of the things I treasured so much about being around her. Just her presence soothed me, and one of the reasons I had spent so much time studying in the library was just to enjoy being in the same building, section or room as her. Of course, when we talked together about anything and everything it was wonderful, but in a way the comfort her mere presence gave me was worth its weight in gold, and something I was slowly realizing I wanted more than anything else.

I sighed wistfully at the memory, and checked the time again. I still had nearly another hour before she would be finished with her shift at the library, and I was done packing. I had my belongings near the door, and all I'd have to do was use one of the terminals that were ubiquitous on the campus to check out from the dormitories on my way to the spaceport. That gave me just enough time to scavenge some surprises together, for later. I grinned, and sprinted out of the door, nearly colliding with another student in the hallway. I mumbled a quick apology as I ran off again, single minded in fulfilling my new goal.

Thinking about her gift to me had caused an idea to pop into my mind, and it would be just perfect. She had a passionate love for archaeology, had been studying it as a minor concentration for years. The woman came up with the most interesting ideas on the subject, too, and loved to think out loud about possible explanations for why some of the older civilizations that we'd found traces of may have vanished. It wasn't always clear, and I very much enjoyed hearing her talk about these things that aroused her interest so. The way her eyes lit up, her voice aflame with determination and confidence, it was so incredibly attractive to me.

I loved watching her mind in action, as it was a beautiful and impressive sight at the same time. I would mostly listen, and offer ideas back to her as they came to mind. I had a good grasp of logical connections and implications of things I heard and knew, and occasionally I would come up with something that earned me one of the grins I so adored from her. Like I had just offered her the keys to the universe. It really was an intoxicating sight to see her like that. And I had seen something just days ago that I knew she would love.

I reached the market that was nearly two kilometers from the dormitories only a dozen minutes later, fairly winded by the time I set foot on the polished walkways of the plaza. I made a beeline for the specialty bookstore, first, knowing just what I wanted to get there. The store owner gave a friendly smile as I walked in, and I nodded to him as I made my way to the section that contained historical titles.

A large holographic display cycled through the many best-selling titles they possessed, each one seemingly trying its hardest to outdo the competition with the best dramatic proclamations you could imagine. I rolled my eyes at the sight, and after a few rotations of the titles I spotted the one I had wanted to get. Investigations and Ruminations of the Ancients. A quick tap on the screen froze it, giving me time to make my selection. My finger hovered over the title of the holobook for just a moment, before pushing down. A quick scan genetically confirming my identity made the transfer of ISK happen, and I was 20 ISK poorer and one book richer. I grinned, it was totally worth it. I can’t wait to see Alecto’s face. I know she’ll love it. It wasn’t quite my favorite reading material, but I knew Alecto well enough to know it was hers. Which was what mattered most, after all.

The vending apparatus next to the display spit out a tiny device that contained the information for the book; she could then plug it in to her personal holopad and read it any time she wanted. I could have also transferred the title directly to her device, but it was more fun to hand her a physical present. How old-fashioned of me, I thought with a grin. I waved at the store owner on my way out, and went over to my second destination. It was still another forty minutes before Alecto was done with work, giving me plenty of time for this part of my surprise.

I bought a small bouquet of flowers that she had mentioned once she adored the smell and look of; at times like this I was very much glad I had an excellent memory for trivia I heard in casual conversation. From yet another store I procured some tea that I knew she sometimes drank. I had asked her months ago what it was, and I was hoping the gesture would be well received. By the time I had my last few gifts together it was nearly time to meet her, and I headed back towards the library building in the center of the University of Caille campus. I had stashed my gifts in a little bag I had brought for the occasion, and sat down on one of the synthetic polymer benches outside of the library entrance to pass the last few minutes.

I recognized her bearing, posture from afar as she walked towards me, even before I could clearly make out her features. Alecto carried herself so very elegantly, with such grace, that it always mesmerised me to watch her do pretty much anything. Even the simple act of reaching for a holopad on a higher shelf in the library turned into a rather exquisitely choreographed routine. At least, that’s what it seemed like to me. I could watch her endlessly, and many hours that I probably should have spent studying I had filled with doing just that.

I hopped off the bench as she came closer, no longer able to contain my exuberance. I surprised myself a little when I embraced her, I hadn’t meant to in the least. Our soft lips met once again, and I spent a few moments luxuriating in the feel of her, all of her, once again at home in my arms. Our kiss grew a little heated after a while, and she pulled back with a smile on her lips, her voice breathless.

“Hi.” Green eyes looked me up and down, liking what she saw from the way her eyes darkened just a bit. “You look good. Very good.”

I blushed again, cursing myself inwardly for being so easily flustered by her. I was not normally that easy to throw off, but I couldn’t manage to find my serene composure that I normally maintained for the life of me. Not around her, anyway. I nodded. “I’m glad you approve...” Then, with a twinkle in my eye I leaned towards her and whispered in her ear. “I had to, well, replace certain articles of clothing when I returned to my room.” I nipped her earlobe ever so slightly, delighting in the low gasp this drew from her throat. “It was all your fault. You made me very aroused, wet and uncomfortable.” I paused for a fraction of a second, my fingers trailing over the sensitive skin of her neck. “What about you? Did I excite you as much?”

Her eyes had darkened, the green around the pupils barely visible so dilated were they. She merely growled in response as she captured my lips passionately, dominating my tongue and mouth with her own. Her slender arms snaked around me and pressed me against her, into her, hard. Her sudden display of control almost instantly caused a fresh wave of arousal that traveled down my body, causing my underwear to be drenched in moments. I moaned into her mouth, relishing the way her tongue firmly, but gently caressed the sensitive areas of my mouth. Our kiss was so intense that I don’t know if I could have remained standing; the fact I wasn’t laying on the ground was purely a testament to the deceptive strength of Alecto’s arms.

Through half-lidded eyes I caught her gaze at me with a mixture of incredibly strong desire and much warmer, gentler feelings, and after a few more moments she pulled back from my lips. A thin strand of saliva hung between our swollen lips. Alecto was panting a little, her uneven, shallow breaths causing her breasts to rise and fall enticingly. I raised my eyes once more, only barely able to focus on hers at the mere width of a hand that separated our faces. Her breath was warm and spicy as it mingled with the air I was breathing, both of us taking a few moments to lower the rate of our frantically beating hearts.

I held her eyes unswervingly, a warm smile on my lips. “Hmm, I think that answered my question...” I flicked my eyes downwards for a fraction of a second. “I...’m embarrassed to say I missed you something fierce.” I searched her eyes for something, not really knowing what I even hoped to find, before whispering once more. “Everything about you is so utterly desirable. You’re just perfect as you are. Perfection incarnate, at least in the appraisal of my mind.” I turned scarlet, feeling my cheeks heat.

Alecto smiled fondly at me, trailing her long fingers over my cheeks in a tender gesture. “As are you, Evie. I had been debating speaking to you for weeks, but I probably would have waited longer before doing so...” She hesitated. “I’m so very glad you did, first. Even if we’ll be apart for a while after this while you’re visiting home... I’ll treasure the day we will share together, and the unquestioning knowledge that what we” She gestured between us. “have is something precious that you do not find every day, or possibly more than once in a lifetime.”

Her lips touched my brow, tenderly placing a series of kisses. “I love what’s inside of there, so very much. You have a remarkable mind; it’s agile, witty and very creative. And so understanding and patient, too. I think you’re a wonderfully generous person, too, and I’ve seen you help other students when they had trouble, whether it was with a class or finding a textbook in the catacombs of the library. But because you were so extra-ordinary in my eyes, I waited for a long time because I felt that I needed to be sure.” Her lips met mine in a much calmer kiss, now. One of sharing and companionship, more than passion. “And now that I am... There is nothing in this galaxy, no force individual or collective, that will keep me apart from you.”

My eyes watered at her words, my voice trembling. “Oh, I have hoped you would feel that way for so long... But I dared not put too much stock in it until now.” I buried my face in her neck, drawing comfort from the pulse of blood rhythmically flowing through her arteries, and the softness of her skin and relaxing scent that I would never forget as uniquely hers. It felt like finally finding a real home of my own. My fingers grasped the back of her shirt as I held on to her, the intensity of the emotions draining my muscles of all tension. The utter relaxation felt very good, though, and I simply enjoyed the embrace for a few minutes. Alecto simply held me to her, placing soft kisses on my brow and hair, giving me time to collect myself.

Finally, I felt it safe to continue speaking without breaking down in sobs of joy, which I really would rather avoid if possible. Though I didn’t think she would think less of me, I still didn’t quite want to seem that vulnerable so soon. But I had always experienced intense emotional states, and when something momentous as this happened it tended to overwhelm my normal tranquil nature like a tidal wave sweeping the land. I nuzzled her neck happily for a few more moments, enjoying the way her skin broke out in tiny goosebumps when I did that. Remember this for later... She has very sensitive skin there. Leave it to my mind to catalogue away random facts like that, at a time like this. Typical.

I looked up from my comfortable spot, tugging her back towards the little bench I had been sitting on before. We both sat down, and I snuggled back into her side, placing my head once more on her shoulder. I held her eyes, wanting her to see I meant what I was about to say from the depths of my being. “That is also really why I wanted to wait so long before talking to you about this... More than not being ready earlier, it was that I needed to be absolutely positive down to the littlest premise that you were a remarkable, wonderful person through and through. But once I saw that was true, and that you had nearly every trait that I valued in other people, or even more generally valued, period... I couldn’t wait any longer. I did not want to wait another moment before speaking to you. But I am glad it turned out as it did, or it may have taken us much longer to be as, well, comfortable around each other physically as we are now.” I blushed a little. “I’ve missed being able to touch people, so very much. But something would always hold me back around anyone else. Anyone not family, anyway. Except for with you; I couldn’t resist myself around you and I would rationalize the weirdest things to make it seem perfectly okay to brush against you with a hand, or touch your shoulder or hair...”

She nodded with a smile. “Yeah, I definitely noticed that. But it always felt so natural to me, too, that you did this... It took me a very long time to even notice that it wasn’t like that with anyone else, for either of us. First I thought you were just like that with everyone, as some people are just very touchy all the time. But I never saw you be as comfortable being close to other people as you were with me.” I nodded the truth of that.

Her eyes and smiled warmed even more. “I am glad you are so comfortable expressing that side of you around and with me, Evelynne. It means a great deal to me. I just wanted you to know that.”

I hugged her tighter in response, not really knowing what to say. After a moment more of thinking, I added verbally. “It’s so natural I really don’t even think about it. And you’re right, I always felt weird sitting too close to people. Usually I’d move if someone sat down right next to me at a table, or slide surreptitiously to the other side of my seat to inch away the tiniest bit. But around you I want to do the exact opposite.” I smiled at how tightly I embraced her even as we spoke. “It’s like my body wants to crawl into yours...”

Alecto grinned, and merely raised one sculpted eyebrow at me in response. I, of course, turned bright red. “Ah, umm, that wasn’t quite how I meant it...” I sputtered, and just accepted defeat, not knowing any good way to get out of that with my dignity intact.

She kissed me, then. “You’re so adorable, and I actually like that about you, a great deal.” Her fingers trailed up my arm, reaching the soft shape of my breasts over the shirt. “And you’re so very soft. And shapely. You have a truly exquisite body. For my eyes, and lips, to feast on... As well as for the best, most satisfyingly soft snuggling. It is perfection.” I saw into her eyes, the way she looked at me, and knew she was not exaggerating about that. Not that I was particularly sensitive about how I looked, but it was something altogether different to have someone express such intensely positive feelings about it. It warmed me down to my toes, made me feel so utterly desired.

I didn’t want to be entirely outdone by her compliments, deciding now was a fair time to return some in kind. “And I love how your more slender, more subtle curves fit so perfectly into mine. As if our bodies had evolved into perfection just to be joined in embrace like that... I love how silky your skin is, and how strong the muscles underneath are when I touch it the slightest bit firmer.” My fingers trailed over her features. “You have such a remarkably beautiful face. It is more defined than my own, and this gives it so much character, such a recognizable shape. And it melds perfectly together into an aesthetic masterpiece. I truly mean that...” My voice trailed off a bit, the awe I sometimes felt trembling only slightly beneath the surface. “And I love how graceful you are, whether you’re sitting or moving, it’s like watching a panther stalking around, and a dancer all in one.” Then I grinned a little, a sparkle returning to my eye as my gaze lowered slightly to her cleavage. “And I love these girls, they look so wonderfully firm and shapely, and I imagine they fit perfectly into my hands.” I blushed again, as I hadn’t really meant to say the last part of the sentence out loud.

Alecto laughed, and simply pulled me against her, kissing my hair. “You’re just too cute, getting all flustered over that. It is perfectly healthy, acceptable and desirable for you to appreciate me, whether it’s my body or mind, like that...” Her lips lowered to my ear, adding softly. “And believe me... I’ve been wanting to touch your breasts for many, many months. I dream about them.” Her voice turned husky. “And think about their perfect shape, and fullness, when I need relief particularly badly.”

I groaned in response, the images that entered my mind not making my already incredible level of arousal that had only slightly lowered when we were sitting there huddled together rather than actively kissing, higher still. I felt like I was about to explode any moment, such pressure I could feel building in my lower body. A familiar ache, want, need was also building, and it made me whimper slightly as my eyes grew a little unfocused once more. “Oh, don’t tease me so, Alecto. I’m so incredibly turned on right now that I can’t stand it. And... I really wanted to have a nice lunch with you first.” I pouted a little bit.

She just smiled. “My apologies, fair lady. I certainly didn’t mean to cause you distress.” Her eyes told another story. “Let us go and receive nourishment, then... I am rather starved, myself. And could eat an above-average sized mammal without any trouble.” Her eyes raked over me again at that last statement.

I gently punched her in the arm for that, causing us both to emit a combination of laugh and giggle. It did help, a little, and I found I could probably make it through lunch without assaulting her in a public place. The Federation was a fairly progressive place, but even that wasn’t quite encouraged... Nor did I care to give anyone else a show of that nature. I’d rather keep those activities in a more private place, thank you very much.

“Let’s go, then. I’ve been wanting to try this Matari restaurant for ever, and I thought today was a good time to go there. Are you up for that?” I asked her as I rose from our bench.

She nodded. “That sounds excellent. Dazzle me with your choice of eating establishments. It is only fair, since you’re the one who initiated our date.”

I saw her smile at that, and couldn’t suppress a rather giddy, elated feeling. We really are going on an actual date. I held out my hand, and we both smiled as our fingers entwined. If my hands were slightly damp from before, she never mentioned it. Alecto truly was an angel in that sense, as she knew me well enough to identify exactly where the line was she could or couldn’t cross with her little teasing remarks. I loved that about her, so very much... That she’d take the effort to learn those things. It was remarkable and wonderful in equal matters all at the same time.

We walked over to the market plaza I had visited earlier. Further off to the side there were several smaller restaurants, including the one we had our minds set on. I tapped my palm against hers and broke into a short run, just because I felt like doing so. Alecto grinned at me as I dragged her after me, her amusement at my silly behavior clearly visible. I just smirked back over my shoulder, urging her to go a little faster. It was only moments before we reached the front of the restaurant, and nearly bowled over someone leaving from an early lunch. I mumbled a quick apology at them before going inside.

We picked a little booth off to the side; it was in a quiet corner of the restaurant where we’d have some small measure of privacy. We sat down opposite of each other and I spent the first minute just looking at her. Our little run had caused her skin to flush the tiniest bit, although it was barely visible through her tanned skin. It was a charming sight to my eyes, though. She blushed a little, too, after I studied her for a while. I smiled, stretching my arm towards her so I could stroke the back of her hand with my thumb.

“I didn’t mean to fluster you, Alecto. I just couldn’t help myself from looking at you.” I did rather enjoy seeing her flustered a little, for once. “I’m so very happy to be able to do a simple thing such as this. Together. Just the two of us.”

She met my smile with one of her trademark luminous ones. Alecto did give me the best smiles in the whole world. We looked at each other like that while I rubbed little circles over her knuckles with my thumb, until the server arrived to recommend the house specialties. I settled for a heartily recommended Matari stew, served in a traditional bread bowl. Alecto picked an epic order of mountain lamb ribs. They served some salads with nuts and various vegetables I had never seen on the side. We both tried some of the salad, and I liked it. Very different from both the foods I grew up eating, and the common foods in this part of the Federation. Unusual, but excellently made and very tasty.

We had a few more minutes before the main meal would be served, and a few questions I was curious to hear the answers to lingered on my mind. We had talked quite a lot over the years, but certain topics did not come up nearly as much as others, so there were certainly gaps in my knowledge of her that I ached to fill. Especially now.

I smiled at Alecto as she efficiently devoured her salad. “Didn’t you mention some time ago that your family is Intaki?”

She nodded at me. “Yes, they are. A proud hundred and twelve generations of pure Intaki, at your service.” Alecto grinned. “I think some of the desire among my ancestors to remain true to their heritage went a bit far. I certainly don’t want to restrict myself to only associating with others of my ethnic background, as was common in years past...” She paused to take a sip of berry juice that had magically appeared on the table while I hadn’t been paying attention. “Even now, there’s a lot of atavism present in the larger population of Intaki. Essentially, I think some among them are afraid their unique heritage will vanish if they don’t make sure that there are many children born to true Intaki.”

She shook her head. “It’s quite silly, if you ask me. And in the longer run it’s not very good for the genetic diversity of the population, either. You can see that, too... Before most genetic diseases were eliminated through gene therapy they were quite common among the Intaki because of that tendency to marry within the group. But yeah, I don’t personally have any compunctions about dating non-Intaki. Obviously.” She smiled at me warmly. “Unless you’ve been holding back on me.”

I giggled. “Nope, my parents are definitely Matari. At least, one of the many subspecies that live in the larger Republic.”

Alecto looked at me for a moment, clearly thinking something over in her mind. “Do you know much about the beliefs commonly held, or attributed to, Intaki?”

I shook my head. “No, not really. We lived in a mostly immigrant neighborhood when I was younger, and besides you I haven’t really known many.”

She nodded. “That’s what I thought. Well, one thing I probably should mention, as it will definitely come up at some point...” She hesitated ever so slightly. It seemed like she was somewhat uncertain of how I would react.

I reached out with my other hand, and curled my fingers around her smaller hand in a comforting gesture. “Don’t worry, Alecto. I don’t know what you will tell me, but I promise that I will keep an open mind, okay? I can’t imagine it’s anything too terrible? Besides,” I added, “if it’s a cultural practice you may not even have personally participated in it. I certainly won’t hold anything you didn’t do yourself against you.”

She beamed a smile at me. “Evie, you really are wonderful. It’s a little complicated, though... I’m not really sure how to explain it, so I may as well just say it bluntly... I am a Reborn.”

“Reborn? I don’t think I’ve heard of the term, no.”

“Well, essentially, one of the most sacred beliefs of my people revolves around death, and the transition towards new life... Since ages past, when people reach the end of their natural life-span, an imprint of sorts is made containing their essence, their character and quirks and traits, though not memories or anything like that... And it is then transplanted into a newborn, so that the old soul may live on in a new body. The belief is that this makes our people ever wiser, because many of the Reborn have characters tempered by many, many years of experience from before they were born. They may not have all the memories, but aren’t very prone to youthful or rash indiscretions, so to speak. It seems to have worked fairly well as our history was almost entirely without major conflicts.” She paused again for a moment. “But part of me feels that it is very much wrong to use an infant as the recipient vessel. It’s not like they had a choice, and the original character the child may have had will never exist. I obviously did not choose this for myself, my parents and certain elders did... but sometimes it still feels like I participated in something that I don’t quite think is right..” Her voice trailed off, and Alecto’s eyes nervously sought mine once more.

I had thought it over as she spoke, and while I agreed with her statement that it seemed wrong to practice this on individuals incapable of consent, I really couldn’t blame her for it. She, after all, was more the victim of the practice than one of the perpetrators who made it happen. I brought her hand to my mouth and placed a kiss on it. “Alecto, dearest, you really do not have anything to be ashamed of. I have some moral issues with the practice itself, similar to what you mentioned, but that doesn’t have anything to do with you. I mean, you were the innocent baby who was given a new personality, essentially. It’s not like you were the one doing this.”

Her eyes were shiny. “Thank you for understanding, Evie. I was hoping you would be, but I was still insecure. Many outside of the Intaki are very distrustful of this practice, and our people in general, and much misinformation exists concerning what exactly happens. Some of the tales make it seem quite barbaric, and especially the origins of the practice really weren’t meant like that. These days the transplant procedure is very safe, too, due to the technological advances that have been made over the years. Not like in the old days, where they used a mixture of shamanic ritual and medicine. But those times are so long ago, it’s really not fair that we are still held responsible for that.”

I nodded. “Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me this. That alone means a great deal to me. Oh, I was wondering... If it is not considered rude to ask. Do you know whose personality you received?”

Alecto nodded. “Yes, that certainly wasn’t a secret. I do admit it was a little strange as a child, sometimes, to have virtual strangers come up to me because they had known the ‘donor’. I received the personality of my great-great-grandmother Charlotte. She was a very well-regarded, wise and powerful councilor in one of the major cities of the Intaki. My family told me that she definitely left her ambition and tireless perserverence to me.” She grinned a little at that. “It was fun whenever I got in trouble when I was little... You’d hear an hour-long lecture and then someone would casually comment that it really wasn’t much of a surprise, as Charlotte was apparently very head-strong and willful, too. She was said to be quite the terror in her youth.”

I giggled at the mental image. “You’re not so bad, though. But that is actually quite fascinating to think about... And raises interesting questions about what parts of a person’s personality are genetically determined, or purely the result of environmental exposure. I imagine that even with the transplanted personality, you’re not exactly the same in every way as the donor?”

Alecto nodded again. “Yes. The procedure actually merges part of the donor’s genetic template that is known to contribute towards general personality traits with the recipient. That’s why it works so much better now that we really understand genetic modification. But at the same time, because my childhood experiences weren’t the same as grandmother Charlotte’s, there are subtle, and not-so subtle, differences. She was raised in a much less diverse time, before most of the current empires were aware of each other. And I think for me, knowing there were all these other civilizations made me much more intrigued by that, and more willing to consider other ideas than my own. Supposedly she was virtually impossible to convince of anything. I am somewhat more... reasonable in that respect. Though I make no guarantees.”

She grinned then, and I met hers with one of my own. I knew the truth of that. Alecto could be quite stubborn and determined when she was convinced of her own right in a matter. I quite liked that about her, as she never gave up on something she believed in unless truly convinced.

The server arrived then with our food, and it looked mouth-wateringly delicious. After a spoonful of my stew that made me moan rather unladylike with the intense pleasure of the melded flavors, I offered some to Alecto without even really thinking about it. She nodded her approval, and held one of the ribs for me so I could nibble off some of the succulent, tender meat with my teeth. It was exquisite. “Hmm. We need to frequent this establishment more often.”

Alecto nodded. “Oh, yes. This is beyond good. I haven’t had such amazing food in years. I think I’ll have to become a ‘regular’ here, I think is what they call it.”

I smiled at her, agreeing wholeheartedly. “Maybe we should make it a tradition. And it’s a second good reason to come back here a lot. Though not nearly as important as the primary reason for visiting, of course.” I said, teasing her a little.

Alecto scowled playfully at me. “Well, I’m glad you’ve got your priorities straight, woman. I’d have to be very upset with you otherwise, choosing some restaurant, even as good as this one, over me.”

I raised an eyebrow at her, and smirked. “Yeah, you’re right. You are much more... tasty, I think.”

My comment had the desired effect, as I could see a faint blush through her tan once again. “You’re terrible, Evie. I’ll have to take my revenge on you later... But first, let’s finish our meal. I have plans this afternoon... And food, of this kind anyway, has little place in them.”

I nodded, digging into my stew once more. I used the crust to scoop the thick stew out of the bowl, and the combination of the tough, flavorful bread and the rich, filling stew really was delicious. Maybe I could grab a recipe for this from somewhere, and make it for Alecto some time... Or my family, I think mom would also enjoy something like this. I doubted they ever had the chance to eat ethnic matari foods that weren’t home-made, and she had never made stews such as this. Of course, with as many systems as the Republic controlled, it really was not strange that they didn’t know this dish. There were hundreds of cultures within the republic, and almost every world had its own foods.

I momentarily forgot about my lunch as I watched Alecto devour her ribs in that way of hers that made it seem like an art form. It really was quite curious, as you’d think a meal like that would have to be messy, but she somehow pulled it off while making it seem perfectly natural. And damn, the woman could eat. It looked like she had already eaten half of the mountain of ribs that was stacked on her plate. Must have a hollow leg, and an insane metabolism. Either that, or her great-great-grandmother still needed nourishment. Probably wiser not to make jokes about that for now. Just in case...

She noticed me watching her with a strange expression on my face, and waved one of her slender hands at me, a rib held carefully, precisely between two fingers as if it was a precious flute. “What are you smiling to yourself about?”

I shook my head for a moment. “You. I just like watching you, even doing regular things like this. It’s fascinating, and quite beautiful. I like how you have a particular way of doing things that’s very much unique to you. But it works wonderfully, and suits you.” I shrugged, not really able to explain it better than that. Alecto seemed to accept my answer, and resumed eating.

Alecto looked up again after a few more bites. “Yeah, I know I eat a lot. I usually eat a large lunch after work because I can never get much food down when I wake up extremely early in the morning. And today I am making sure I have plenty of energy reserves for later.” She winked. “Make sure you eat enough, yourself, you may need it.”

My mouth grew dry, and I had to take a few sips of my juice to be able to swallow. “Your allusions are positively fiendish. You’ll be the death of me, I just bet.” She just smirked back at me, not really needing a verbal response at all.

We decided to skip dessert. Mostly because Alecto said I was dessert. To which I replied she was. A long argument ensued, until we managed to reach a compromise in the end. That henceforth, both our persons could be equally dessert, if that was so desired. And it was. I had a hard time keeping a straight face through that conversation, and I could tell she did, too. Another one of the things that was so wonderful being around her. I felt comfortable talking and joking about all these issues just because she was so easy to talk to, and understood me immediately.

We left the restaurant in high spirits, and I was about to ask her what she wanted to do next, when Alecto spoke up. “Evie, I realize that you have never seen where I live in all the time we’ve known each other. Would you like to?”

I nodded eagerly. “Oh, that would be great. I must admit that I’m quite curious.” I bounced a little on the balls of my feet in excitement. “I can’t wait to see it, truly.”

She smiled at my exuberance. “Okay, that’s settled then. It’s only a few minutes from here, on the opposite side of the library from where the dormitories are. I’ve lived there for about two years, as I got tired of having a tiny cramped room in the dorms.” She grinned. “Now I have a somewhat larger, though still small place. At only three times the cost! But really, it’s quite cozy. I think you’ll like it.”

We walked for a few minutes, fingers easily finding each other as if we’d been walking around together for years. But then, I supposed, maybe our bodies had already known the truth even when our minds were a little slow to catch up. That certainly happened sometimes, and I knew that I had always felt an extremely strong draw to be close to Alecto. It just seemed right to be with her, to feel her next to me all the time. I still had my gifts stashed away in a small pouch hanging from my left hip.

We came upon a small apartment complex in a rather quiet section of the university campus. There was a tiny park right next to it, some aquatic birds swimming merrily around in a small pond. It was a serene sight, and seemed like just the place she would enjoy, too. The thought made me smile. Alecto nodded, as if she had heard my thoughts. She laughed at my confusion. “Oh, the expression you had. And the way you glanced between me and the pond a few times, just made it seem like you were thinking of similarities. And you’re right if that was the case, which is why I nodded. This is one of my favorite spots to eat, I often bring meals out here just to sit and enjoy the warmth of the sun on my face, and watch the little bit of nature that we have right here.”

“Yeah, it just seemed like a place you’d like. Did you pick the apartment partly based on this being right next to it? It’s such a quiet, tranquil little sanctuary.”

She thought for a moment. “I suppose I did, now that I think of it. I mean, I also really liked the apartment itself, but there were others that were within my price range, and I remember really liking the whole atmosphere for this one, and I think seeing this as soon as I came to look at it really helped that.” She flourished a wave with her hand, pointing towards the entrance. “After you, my fair lady.”

I smiled at her little act. Alecto grinned at my bemused expression, quickly catching up to me when I set off towards the doors. “Here, let me show you which way to go, before you get us all lost.”

I mock scowled at her for that, which only broadened her grin. She headed towards a set of elevators near the back of the building. The hallways we walked through were quite spartan, but well-maintained and clean. I kind of liked the look; it was very practical, right down my alley. The doors opened almost instantly and we traveled up to the 12th floor of the building. She made a few turns on the floor, and I realized I probably would have trouble getting out of here by myself, at least at first. Without getting lost a few times, anyway. But then again, I didn’t think that was going to be much of an issue. We were supposed to go by my apartment together, anyway, to pick up my bags before she dropped me off at the spaceport later today.

Alecto stopped in front of a door that had a series of rectangles painted on it, red/orange/yellow going inwards. “Did you paint those?” I asked her.

She nodded at that. “Yeah, the door was so plain before, and I couldn’t keep it like that. We’re not normally supposed to, but I managed to convince the owner of the building to make an exception.”

I smirked at that, knowing how convincing she could be when she really tried to get something. The universe knew that she could convince me of nearly anything... Not that I objected to either the end results of the methods, but still.

She ran a finger over the sensor strip that confirmed her identity, and the door slid open into the wall, revealing the interior of her apartment. It was quite small, to be honest, though Alecto had managed to space her furnishings out to create a remarkable sense of space within the walls that really did not make it seem cramped at all. More very comfortable, and like a home. More of the same bright colors I had seen on her door were to be found everywhere; there was an enormous mural with geometric patterns on one of the walls of the living room. It was rather intriguing to look at, the way the lines flowed from figure to figure was mesmerising to my eyes. Interestingly, the whole pattern was actually connected into an infinite loop, though it did not seem that way when you first saw it due to the complex shape, and clever use of optical illusion. I was rather impressed, as it looked as if she’d put a lot of work into that painting to get the optics of it just right.

Alecto smiled at the look on my face, looking the slightest bit unsure of herself. I quickly sought to reassure that. “Oh, this is beautiful... I love the painting you made here, it’s very appealing to look at. One of those things you can just look at for hours and get lost in the detail.” Like you. I silently added.

I turned my eyes back to look at the rest of the room, equally impressed with what I found there. She had a series of enormous, plush pillows on the floor, arranged in a semi-circle around a low table. It looked like it could be a dining area, though it was not a concept for one I was familiar with. It looked like a very comfortable way to eat a meal, though, and I found myself wishing we’d have a chance to later on. There were many smaller holographic visuals decorating the orange and yellow walls. Many of them artistic interpretations of some of the ancient landmarks that had been reported to be seen inside worm holes that led who knew where. It was completely unknown at this point where those areas of space were, or if any of our civilizations were descended from them... But it had spawned a renaissance of archaeological activity, and I know it had inspired her.

There was a small kitchen, too, equipped with a more advanced looking food synthesizer, as well as an actual heating plate and a tiny oven! I bounced over into her kitchen, excited beyond words. “Ooh. You can actually cook in here? That is amazing. Do you know how long it’s been since I could have an actual meal?!? Can we make something, anything? I’m not hungry, and you probably aren’t either, but I’d love to try something we can make ourselves. It’d be so good...” My voice trailed off as I realized I was rambling. My face turned bright red up to the roots of my hair.

Alecto laughed heartily at my display of exuberance. “Oh, Evie, you’re something else.” She shook her head at me, fondly. “Yes, we can make something. I’m not hungry, but how about we prepare something light for us to snack on while we talk some more the rest of the afternoon?” I nodded that that was a good idea. “What would you like to make?”

I thought for a few moments. “Hmm... Hard to say... How about... Can we make something chocolate-y?!?” I asked, hopefully. Supposedly, some forward thinking soul had brought cocoa plants with them when they originally came here from the place our ancestors’ ancestors originated, millenniums before the Dark Ages even started. Good thing they did, as it was amazing. And yes, I realized I was giddy with enthusiasm right now, but Alecto didn’t seem to mind, so I didn’t really think twice of it. In fact, I thought as I saw her glance at me again with that expression of warmth and affection in her eyes, I think she really likes seeing this side of me. That, in itself, made me feel warm inside, as I never really felt like I could show that part to many people, fearing their reactions or ridicule. Maybe that was irrational, but it was hard not to think about that, sometimes.

Alecto looked at me just a moment more, then chuckled and walked over. “Okay, let’s start with that, then, shall we? I don’t think you can do anything else first, so we might as well make some chocolate treats for ourselves.” She smiled and gave me a kiss. “You’re absolutely adorable like this, Evie. I’m glad I get to experience that. And yes, before you ask, we do have the cocoa powder. I was thinking we could make an Intaki adaptation of a more generic chocolate-bite recipe?”

I nodded eagerly. That sounded very good. Besides, I figured if she liked it, it was probably a decent choice to eat, as our tastes in food were very similar and I couldn’t remember Alecto ever eating something I hated. Besides, it was chocolate, how bad could it possibly be? “That sounds excellent. What do we need?”

She smiled. “Okay, well, how about you mix up the cocoa with some of this vegetable oil? Use roughly 3 parts oil to 1 part cocoa powder, and it should come out quite well.” She thought for a moment. “Let’s make... two hundred milliliters of that mixture, that should be plenty for today, and give us some left overs in case you want to take some for your trip.” She grinned. “If you like it, anyway.”

I smiled back at her grin. “Oh, I think I will. If you helped to make it, and it’s chocolate, how can it not be good?” I blushed a little, but managed to hold her gaze. I carefully, precisely measured out exactly the amounts of each I needed before transferring them into a metal bowl. I then used one of the sonic blenders she had in her kitchen to thoroughly mix the powdered cocoa with the oil, and it smoothed into a liquid form within seconds, the powerful vibrations of the device breaking up small clumps without any trouble whatsoever. Oh, technology, how I loved it.

Alecto nudged me over with her hip, as I was standing partially in front of the synthesizer. She added a tiny bit of water to a mixture of spices that she had added together, adding a few handfuls of flour until it reached some consistency only she would have recognized. It certainly didn’t make much sense to me. I couldn’t help but smile at the rather haphazard way she was combining the ingredients, mostly to taste and by approximation. But I had to admit it was quite delicious when she had me try some. On her finger.

My face was rather heated, I was sure of it, but the complicated mixture of spices really was excellent. And the subtle taste of her just slightly palatable underneath it did wonderful things to my lower body. I suckled on her finger for much longer than was otherwise necessary, just because the taste of it, and her, was amazing. And as I did it longer, I could tell her breathing wasn’t quite as even any more, either. Pleased with the effect I had on her, I finally pulled back, placing a single kiss on the tip of a slender digit.

“Hmm.” I nearly purred. “That is good.”

She smirked back at me, eyes slightly clouded. “What, the spices, or my finger? You got a little carried away there, my dear. Not that I minded. It felt good. You have a very talented tongue.”

I coughed, some saliva that had been accumulating in my mouth from before instantly going down the wrong way. “Ahem, yeah. Thanks.” I blushed again, not entirely unfazed by her compliment. “So, what now? Do we just combine the two?”

She grinned, taking a step closer and backing me against one of the counters. “Yes. Now we mix the two together...” Her arms wrapped around me. “And apply some heat...” I felt her warm breath on my mouth, and slowly opened it, half in reflex and half in anticipation. “And just mix, and mix.” Her tongue slipped in between my lips, tenderly tasting my own. “Until it’s blended together into one whole.” Her eyes, normally the shade of spring grass, had darkened until they more resembled that of pine needles of the gigantic trees of Vylade. She kissed me for a few minutes just like that, exploring my mouth softly, carefully. I had completely forgotten about cooking, but she had somehow retained the acuity of mind to put the bowl down before we ended up wearing the spice mixture.

Some indeterminate amount of time later, we were both breathing quite heavily, her smaller breasts nestled against my larger ones, the hardness of her nipples ever so slightly trailing against the soft top of my own with every slightly labored breath she took. The motion sent tingles down my spine, and I shivered in reaction and anticipation. For a moment my mind couldn’t quite comprehend how her lips were slightly higher than my own, until I realized she was standing on the tips of her toes, and had been for a few minutes.

I eased her back down a little, as I thought the stance must have been getting uncomfortable. I certainly couldn’t imagine standing up for that long in that position. She smiled at me thankfully and I saw her wiggle her toes a little to get some circulation going again. I grinned at that, it looked very attractive. “Careful there, wouldn’t want you to strain any muscles in your feet. Although, I suppose I could always massage them for a few minutes if they ache particularly intensely. After all, you did just give me a rather remarkable kiss.” I placed a few kisses on her throat and jaw, causing Alecto to gasp. “I think you deserve that much.”

“Really? That sounds divine...” She whispered back, still breathless from before. “But let’s finish this, as it’s nearly done. And we’ll have about half an hour until these little treats are baked to perfection.” She quickly keyed in a command on the thermal oven and it started heating rapidly. She used the sonic blender to add both mixtures together into a smooth whole, before adding the batter to a heat-resistant polymer baking pan. By the time she had poured the mixture in, the oven was already heated. It was a seriously impressive piece of technology, I thought.

I smiled deviously as an idea hit me, and just as she was about to lift the baking dish I lightly ran a finger down the curve of her bottom. She tensed up for a fraction of a second before pressing herself against my hand more firmly, and probably would have dropped the dish if she had already lifted it, merely by the way her fingers suddenly spasmed. “Sorry. I couldn’t resist touching.” I whispered softly in her ear.

From behind her I could feel her brow bunch up as if she was concentrating very hard on something, and in a smooth motion she managed to slip the chocolate dish into the oven without moving away from me in the slightest. It was rather impressive to behold. Quite distracting, too, as she managed to spin around and quite literally pounce on me in retaliation before I even knew what had happened.

“That... was quite mean. And a mistake, my dear.” An evil grin touched her lips. “I’ll have to punish you for that. Almost making me drop my precious dish and all.” Her eyes still shone warmly at me, which made the effect that much more incredibly arousing. “What. Should. I. Do.” Each word was emphasized with a nip of her lips, on my lower lip, jawline, ear, throat, turning my legs and resistance to jelly.

As if expecting this, she wrapped me in a close embrace, hands freely trailing over and under my clothes, leaving wakes of fire all over my skin where her fingers had made contact with incredibly sensitized nerve endings. The fingers of one hand slipped underneath the waistline of my pants and underwear, near the hollow of my back and stroked the soft skin below, tracing tiny patterns over one round cheek, then the other. It felt so incredibly good that I couldn’t help moaning loudly, though I managed to bury most of the volume in the crook of her neck where I had rested my head.

Having been kissing and touching her, and being excited for this long had made my skin hyper-sensitive, and the feelings of her hands on my body were nearly overwhelming. I would have really fallen down as I felt my knees buckle, but once more Alecto’s remarkably strong arms held me upright as she slowly made her way to the sitting area.

She stopped the kisses and nibbles she was placing on my throat and neck for just long enough to lower me on one of the enormous pillows, and I felt myself sinking luxuriously into its softness. Her body covered mine not a second later, and now I truly was enclosed by her. The pillow was soft and yielding enough that she could comfortably hold me even with our combined weights pressing down on her arms. I’m afraid to say I could do little more than lay there, basking in the sensations her fingers and lips were producing, not being able to summon enough clarity of mind to do more than enjoy what she was doing.

My brain couldn’t quite keep track of all the many sensations that seemingly simultaneously arrived at its processing centers. It felt like her hands and lips and tongue were everywhere at the same time. Each spot she lingered her attention on burned for moments afterwards with near-painful intensity, and after a few minutes it felt like my entire body was aflame in her, and my, passion. My breaths grew increasingly shallow and I was starting to feel lightheaded, not quite being able to draw in sufficient air to meet my body’s needs.

Alecto must have noticed, watched for it, as she slowed down her ministrations just as I felt my vision begin to darken. She simply snuggled up to me, then, still kissing my neck and throat, though much more slowly and languidly now. “Sorry...” I felt her breath on my neck, only barely able to make out the words over the pounding of my heart in my temples. “I got the tiniest bit carried away there...” Her pupils were fully dilated, the green around it dark. “Though I must say, it’s so very difficult to stop... You are so intoxicating to me, I simply cannot get enough of the taste of you, the feel of you. Your skin is so amazingly soft and supple, I feel like I could just sink into it and it’d keep me warm and safe forever.” She smiled a little nervously. “And your flavor is so appealing to my palate. I can’t quite place it yet, will probably have to taste it some more to really put a name on what it reminds me of, but it’s so very good.”

My respiration had calmed down enough that I didn’t quite feel like passing out, and again, as if she had been watching just for that, she lowered her lips to my throat once more and suckled little patches of skin into her mouth, using her tongue masterfully while at the same time seeming to really enjoy tasting my skin with it. It was a little strange, but what she was doing felt so damn good that I really couldn’t care that much about the particulars of what she did. And I felt very safe with her, knowing on some level that she wouldn’t do something that I truly did not want. She had already shown that in smaller ways, knowing just when to stop when something started to get too intense, or overwhelming for me. Alecto was so very careful with me in that respect, and it made me feel intensely wanted and, dare I say, loved.

My fingers that had mostly been clutching alternatively the material of her shirt or the hairs at the base of her long braid became more purposeful once more. I trailed the back of my fingers over her strong cheekbones, tenderly touching the soft skin there. My eyes met hers, then, and I tried to unleash the full intensity of the warmth of my feelings towards her in that look. Judging from the way her eyes sparkled increasingly brightly, and even grew the tiniest bit moist, I succeeded. And having already made the realization long ago subconsciously, I did not feel the least bit hesitant to speak it out loud, make the words explicit. I could clearly see that she felt it, too... But even in the absence of that I did not ever want to be anything but completely honest with her.

“Alecto?” Her eyes locked on mine as she pressed yet closer to me, the intensity of her gaze piercing deep into my mind.

“Yes, Evie?”

I smiled warmly. “I just wanted to tell you, because it’s the truth and you deserve nothing less, that.. I love you.” I was rather amazed at how stable my voice had been towards the end of that sentence. I must have breached some inner reservoir of certitude and strength for it that I wasn’t aware of. Or maybe it was just because it was her.

She beamed a smile so luminous at me that it literally left me breathless in its intensity. “Oh, how I have longed to hear you say that...” She kissed my brow tenderly. “I love you so much, Evelynne.” Her eyes flicked down and back up to mine. “I’ve always been a little more hesitant expressing these things in words, tending to wait too long to be absolutely certain five times over before saying something... I’m so glad you’re as forward and brave as you are...” Her lips met mine in another loving kiss. “You are an amazing woman, and human being, and I would be honored and proud to know, and say, that you love me, and I love you.”

I nodded, my own voice not quite working with the overwhelming happiness that suffused my being just now. I just hugged her tighter to me in response, while I waited for the obstruction in my throat to ease that was so encumbering my words. Alecto held me gently, using her lips to kiss away a few tears that had leaked out from my eyes. Her own eyes were glistening, too. Eventually, I managed to speak again. “That makes me so very happy. I dared not dream before now that my feelings would be reciprocated like that, and so soon. That you feel the same way truly makes me the happiest woman I could imagine being.” When she opened her mouth as if to speak, I quickly added with a smile. “Okay, we’re both the happiest women we could imagine being. How’s that?”

She nodded shyly, snuggling into my neck for once, and I held her in my arms, our limbs entwined so tightly we would need a few moments at the very least to disentangle ourselves afterwards. But it was gloriously warm, comfortable, loving, and I could not imagine a place I’d rather be than right here, where I was now, in her arms and holding her close to me. We laid like that for a long time, until the little beeps coming from her oven disturbed our peaceful embrace. I was about to rise when she shook her head fiercely, and pinned me back down to the pillow.

She grinned at me, then. “Oh, you’re not going anywhere. I have plans and ideas for you... Besides, my oven is particularly amazing and automatically and rapidly cools down when it is done, so there’s really no need whatsoever to take the baked item out unless you want to eat it now?” A sculpted eyebrow rose over a green eye, in challenge. There’s really no way I would, or could, say yes to that, I thought with a smile.

I shook my head. “Nope, I am perfectly content. Right here. With you.”

Alecto smirked. “Uh, huh. I’ll have you know you’re a terrible flatterer. But it works for me... I’m sad to say. You do have a certain effect on me... that I find... so very hard to resist.” Her lips closed on my pulse point, grazing the sensitive spot lightly with her teeth. The motion drew a sharp gasp from my throat, my fingers searching for a better hold on her clothes to pull her towards me, eager for more of what she was doing. “And I find I have absolutely no desire to resist any longer...” She whispered into my neck.

Her eyes met mine, then, searching them for any kind of uncertainty or doubt. I admit I was a little nervous at what might come, but I tried to convey the most confidence I had ever shown, as I wanted this, us, to happen so badly, had wanted it to for so long. And especially here, in her small, comfortable apartment that was so very much hers, her sanctuary from the world, I thought there really was no better place to first experience this. Here, surrounded by her, and her favorite art and decorations, everything she wanted in her life... and now she had me in it as well. It felt supremely appropriate to me. “I do want this. More than I can put words to, Alecto. I know my mind, body and heart are safe with you, and I want to share all of me with you.” I hesitated for a moment then, nervousness gripping me. “I have never done this before, though... But I promise I will use my whole imagination, and all my attention and observation, to learn just what you like, to learn and become perfect at it, with you.” I blushed again, but felt proud at having been able to say all that nonetheless, even with my awkwardness.

She smiled one of her radiant smiles again. “Oh, you have absolutely nothing to worry about, dearest Evelynne. I’m sure over time we will learn the best techniques and all that, but now, today, that is not important. If all we do is touch each other that would be wonderful in itself. But judging by how insanely good your touch feels, and how much I want to experience you in every way I have ever imagined wanting another person, whether physically, or mentally, I very much doubt it will disappoint the wildest imaginations of our wildest imaginations.”

I nodded, knowing the truth of that. If earlier today had been any indication of what was to come, I was afraid I would be unconscious from delirious pleasure by the end of the afternoon. Maybe I can get one of those hovercars to drive me around the spaceport if my legs no longer work... I smiled at the mental image, earning me a bemused look from Alecto. “Talking to yourself again?” She teased.

I nodded, blushing. “Yeah, you know me too well. I was just thinking that if I am completely exhausted at the end of today, I need to find one of those transportation units they have for people who can’t walk.” We shared a grin at that.

“Well, I’ll just have to see if I can make that wish come true...” Her voice trailed off, and the look that accompanied made me shiver all over once more. Her eyes turned serious again, almost solemn in their intensity. “Can I see you now?” Her breath was warm and spicy on my face. “I’ve wanted to for so very long, behold all your beauty without anything in between us, concealing it...” Her whispered words made the aching feeling in my abdomen return even stronger than before, the flush of arousal spreading throughout my body. I nodded at her in response, biting my lip ever so slightly, doing my best not to be too loud in my appreciation of what she was doing to me.

Her fingers trailed down my skin almost reverently, as if she was torn between wanting to touch me and feeling she barely had the right to. It made me feel wonderful in response. That she valued me that much. She ever so gently touched my face, placing soft, warm kisses wherever her fingers went. She made a trail slowly down my throat, following the contours of my collarbones faintly visible under my skin. I squirmed underneath her, trying to press against her more, urging her on with unspoken commands.

Alecto complied, trailing both hands down my sides, only ever so slightly grazing past the sensitive sides of my breasts on her way towards me stomach. She traced circles there with her thumbs, every other pattern she completed my shirt would rise just the tiniest bit more as her fingers slowly moved higher and higher. I felt my abdominal muscles clench as I had always had incredibly sensitive skin there and it almost became too much to bear.

I sucked in a great gulp of air, managing to gasp out a few words at her before I became breathless once more. “Please, m-my l-love... Please!” She must have understood my rather inarticulate request, as she stopped teasing me with her fingers for a moment. She started raising my shirt up, though still quite slowly. Once my shirt cleared my neck, she tossed it behind her, somehow managing to land it in a fairly neat pile even so. Her eyes glued to my body as it was revealed to her for the first time.

Her voice was filled with awe, almost. “Oh, Evie...It is such perfection. Just the right combination of softness...” Her fingers trailed over my abdomen, and she slowly lowered her lips to place a series of kisses on the skin. “Yet I love how firm the muscles underneath are, how I can still faintly see them through the soft padding that covers it... It feels exquisite to my touch.” Alecto’s lips were moving higher, little by little. I drew in another sharp gasp as she nearly reached the underside of my still-clothed breasts.

“Oh, and these wonderful breasts of yours. I have never dreamt of ones that look more appealing. They’re so wonderfully large... and curvy and so shapely, I can’t keep my eyes away from them, and I ache to touch them.” Her eyes met mine, the question clearly visible.

I nodded at her in response, and she swiftly undid the little magnetic holders that held the two parts of my bra together. Very slowly she drew the cloth away from me, her gaze following every tiniest movement each breast made as it was fully revealed. “Oh, yes. They really are.” She placed a kiss on first one, then the other breast. “Absolutely, positively works of art... Finer specimens than this I have never laid eyes on.” I turned redder at that, though I very much enjoyed the compliments. I just wasn’t quite used to anyone commenting so openly about that. She almost too slowly cupped one of her small hands around the heavy underside of a breast. It didn’t at all cover all of it, and she had to use both her hands just to cover all of it. She was just so incredibly careful, tender, even now when she must have been amazingly aroused... It once again confirmed to me that she really did love me very much, and I relished that knowledge and every kind of proof of it I could find all the more for it.

“Oh, Evie...” She murmured softly, her eyes drinking in the sight in front of her as if she was spell-bound. “You have been holding back on me... I knew you had wonderfully large breasts, but I never imagined they were quite so full, and heavy and gorgeous. I can’t even quite hold all of one with both my hands...” She was murmuring to herself now. “Oh, I love how soft and curvaceous your body is. It’s so very feminine, yet also strong. Just. Perfection.” She grinned again. “But really... this is a most wonderful surprise, and I simply must show my appreciation of them in full. Very, very soon I will do just that...” She paused just for a moment, considering something. “I must admit, they’re just the ideal size for me. I find large breasts incredibly beautiful and simply divine to touch and caress. And yours are very much so. Yet also not so large that they’d strain your poor back and skin too much. They’re just right for your figure, too. Suits it perfectly well, like one beautifully integrated whole, where every little piece belongs and adds to the total. It’s magnificent.” She placed a few kisses near the rounded top of each breast as she said the last words. “Oh, but now...”

Alecto ever so lightly scratched each side of the breast with her nails, causing me to moan deeply. The sides especially were incredibly sensitive and I loved the way she touched those areas of me, too, and not just the most obvious ones that everyone knew to stimulate. But when her mouth closed on my already hard nipple I very nearly lost all control I had left. First she simply held it between her lips, teasing it ever so gently with her tongue, languidly exploring the contours of the crinkled skin in great detail, as if trying to memorize the shape of it by touch. Suddenly, without warning, she pulled it deeper into her mouth, and I felt that pull deep within me as it was answered by a familiar deepening ache deeper in my belly. I threaded my hands through her soft hair without even thinking about it, holding her face tightly against me. The stimulation felt ever better as the flesh became more and more sensitized

Her lips detached after a minute of this and she admired her work and from the looks of it, me, proudly. My nipple had somehow become even harder than before, though I knew not how that was possible. It was a rather angry shade of red from all the blood that had rushed there, Alecto adding to it with her sucking motions, swollen beyond any size I had ever seen it before.Normally barely rising above the flesh of my breast, it had now become nearly the size of the tip of my little finger, though not quite as long as that. “Oh, these nipples of yours,” she lightly tweaked the other, “are so delightfully sensitive, and so hard and enjoyable to suckle on. I could definitely get used to this. Oh, but I can’t forget its twin!”

She had a grin on her face as she finished speaking and the way she was acting, the way her eyes were constantly lit up in excitement, made it seem like she was a little kid who’d received the best birthday present ever. It was really quite endearing, I had to say. Though, I imagine I would be acting just the same when in a little bit I had the chance to explore her. My eyes clouded over just thinking about how badly I wanted that to happen. Shifting slightly underneath her made me realize how utterly drenched I had become, again. Any benefit from my earlier shower was long gone, and I probably would have to borrow some underwear later. That, or not wear any, which I don’t think Alecto would mind... But I didn’t know if I would feel quite that bold. Maybe another time it could be interesting, especially if she knew about it and had to live with the knowledge I was completely naked underneath my clothes, just barely out of her reach.

Any further thoughts were short-circuited when Alecto went back to her earlier activities, merely directing them towards my other breast, and I quickly became lost in the sensations as the tempo of her actions gradually, but continually, sped up. I was so lost that I hardly noticed that slender fingers were trailing further south, until they trailed along the sensitive skin covering the junction between my abdomen and hips. That little valley was so incredibly sensitive, and I nearly lifted both of us completely off the floor when I jerked upwards at the first touch I felt there.

Never one to waste an opportunity when it presented itself, she peeled the waistline of my pants partially down my hips, revealing more pale curves. She immediately pounced, trailing loving touches and kisses all over the newly exposed skin, concentrating on the invisible but palpable upper ridges of my hip bones, following them higher once more to where my hips only slightly narrowed to my waist. “Oh, I just love it so very much. The skin underneath my fingers is so wonderfully supple, soft. You have well rounded curves everywhere, love, it is so attractive.”

Her mouth was trailing lower once more and my breath caught as I felt the warmth of hers blowing across the tiny, silky hairs that covered the softness of my inner thighs. I simply gazed through lidded eyes at her, as Alecto’s eyes constantly switched between drinking in my exposed body and meeting my own in incredibly powerful, warm looks that somehow managed to arouse me more than anything else she was doing to me physically. There was such strength hidden in that gaze, such warmth, affection and love. It was impossible to describe properly exactly how she looked at me, and what feelings must have inspired that look she now gave me, and had given me for the last few minutes.

I moaned, hard and rather voluminously, when she buried her face in the utterly soaked fabric of my panties, breathing in and out deeply as she soaked in my scent. The smallest vibrations I felt from her unsteady breathing on my sensitive flesh, even through the thin cloth covering it. The swollen, engorged lips of my sex were clearly visible through the drenched garment, even my eyes could clearly make them out when I looked down at her. Alecto spent a few moments nuzzling my labia through my underwear with her nose and lips. The incredible sensation caused shivers to erupt all over my body and I involuntarily pressed my lower half into her to deepen the stimulation, wanting and needing more. The sensations coursing through me all seem to coalesce on my aching clit, the intensity of it nearly unbearable.

I very, very nearly came just from what she was doing now even without really touching me directly, but Alecto seemed to have already learned to interpret the smallest tremors for what they were, and eased off just enough to simply keep me right on the cusp for longer. I could see her grin at me, and she moved away with a whispered promise. “Oh, I’ll be back for this, but I am not done unwrapping you. I need to see all of you, first... My lovely, beautiful Evelynne.”

She resumed her trail down the insides of my thighs then, tracing lines over the soft skin ever so lightly with her nails. I managed to push my knees up once more, not an easy feat as her whole body weight was on my lower body at the moment. But I did, and she thankfully stripped my pants the rest of the way down my legs, taking my soft socks with them as she went. I had no idea when my shoes had come off, but she must have done it at some point, as I had been wearing them before we started this. She’s good, damn. I thought, impressed.

She was enjoying herself, exploring every small patch of skin going down my legs, the sensitive inside of my knees, my calf muscles, ankles and feet until she reached my rhythmically contracting toes. She spent a few moments kissing them tenderly, which felt amazingly good. I had had no idea my toes, and most parts of my feet were quite so sensitive, and my sounds of approval only further inspired her to lavish attention on that part of me.

After a seeming eternity of trailing, wet kisses and light butterfly touches on my feet that were driving my arousal to even higher levels than before, she ever so slowly made her way back up towards the last part of me that still remained unseen to her eyes. Her fingers circled around the waistline of my panties for several moments, as if hesitant, as if she was trying to gather courage for what she was about to do, or perhaps simply prolonging the anticipation more.

I caught her eyes once more, nodding at her that I wanted her to continue, see all of me. She pulled the panties off my legs, eyes lighting up as she took in my womanhood in all its glory. “Oh... How I’ve wanted to touch and taste this. I can’t believe I finally can.” Her mouth reverently kissed my labia, utterly drenched with my arousal, so engorged with blood that they had opened completely. Her tongue ever so lightly tasted me then, running along one side of my sex, then the other, collecting my juices with abandon. “Oh, you taste absolutely divine.” Her nose buried itself in the soft red curls above and I heard her breathe in deeply. “And you smell so good.” I probably would have felt strange about that any other time, but the fact that she so loved even those things about me actually felt strangely good, and made me want her all the more.

“Please, Alecto... Please no more teasing... I can’t stand it any longer. I need release, so badly.” I finally managed to talk past the overwhelming pleasure that was suffusing my nervous system, making it almost impossible to gather any coherent thoughts. When she complied immediately after, I was reduced to simply enjoying the sensations coursing through me. She trailed up and down the sides of my sex, using her fingers and lips to stimulate the outer folds expertly. I somehow found the presence to open my legs more, giving her full access to my womanhood.

My hands that had once more grasped her silky platinum locks went to my breasts of their own accord. My nipples ached, wanting stimulation, and I did not want her to stop what she was about to do. Alecto saw this, and her eyes darkened several more shades. “Oh yes.” She hissed. “Touch yourself for me. Please show me what you’d want me to do to your gorgeous breasts and nipples now. It would please me ever so much to see that.” I complied with her demand, cupping the center of each heaving breast with my splayed hands, trying to fit as much of each soft globe inside as I could. Her eyes lit up more as I did that. “Oh, I love the way the soft flesh of your breasts spills out between your fingers... It is so arousing, makes me want you so very much.” I nodded, tears in my eyes from the intensity of my arousal. My thumb and finger curled around to enclose each nipple, pinching them hard and firm.

Her fingertips trailed slightly lower then centering on my opening, while her mouth closed over my fully engorged, unhooded clit. As the tip of her finger first slid into me, my inner muscles pulling on it of their own accord, drawing it deeper inside almost instinctually, her tongue started lashing over my pearl and I lost control utterly feeling an incredibly powerful orgasm course through me. I had no idea how long it went on. Her finger, clearly not finding any resistance, curled up inside me putting delicious pressure on the spot deep inside me. The long strokes she was making with her hand kept me in my climax for what seemed like forever, and before I even really came down from my first two more of her slim fingers joined their sister within me. They fit snugly inside me, stretching me wonderfully. And the combined tips of her fingers spreading the force over the whole of my g-spot felt even better than it had before. It took her a few more motions of her hand and tongue to find a comfortable rhythm that my body seemed to enjoy the most, then kept repeating it over, and over, and over. Some part of me, far removed from the main part of my mind, marveled at the contrast of her tanned fingers moving into my pale flesh. It was a remarkably arousing sight, the difference somehow tantalizingly fascinating to my visual senses.

I lost track of how many times I felt my muscles clench in climax, each more powerful than the last. I literally saw stars behind closed eyelids, my whole consciousness retreating until the world was reduced to her hands, and mouth, and nothing else existed for me than Alecto and what she was doing to me, how amazing the sensations were she could make me feel. My eyes were twitching as the pleasure center of my brain was stimulated beyond anything it had ever experienced, and I came very close to actually losing consciousness as neurons fired erratically seemingly everywhere at once.

Once more Alecto seemed to have been paying attention to my limits, knowing just when I could really take no more, and slowly reduced the frequency of her stimulations over a few minutes. It was wonderful, letting me down from my intense level of arousal ever so slowly, and I felt myself slowly sinking towards a more normal level of consciousness. Ever so slowly I became cognizant of my other senses. I noticed then that she was softly kissing, nuzzling every part of my womanhood. Our gazes met, and I saw that hers were filled with so much love and warmth that it once more caused a tear to leak from the corner of my still half-closed eyes. She placed one last kiss lightly over the top of my clitoris, making me gasp again as even that was nearly too much, before draping her slender form over mine.

Feeling her on top of me like that felt absolutely wonderful, and I drew shaking arms around her, hugging her close to me. Burying my face in her neck once more, I felt utterly content, happy. “Oh, Alecto.” My voice came out very soft. “That was... indescribable. I have never felt anything like it, not even remotely... Thank you so much for showing how wonderful this could be, with you. I want to return the honor, soon, but I think I need a few moments to calm down.” I laughed softly, tremulously. “I don’t think I have any tension, strength left in my limbs.”

Alecto kissed my head tenderly. “Don’t worry about it, my sweet Evelynne... Whether we get to that, or not, you could not have satisfied me more. Allowing me to please you so much, that was more than enough for me.” She grinned. “Though, if you insist, I certainly wouldn’t mind. And you can most definitely see all of me, if you wish. I would not for the life of me forgo seeing your response.” Her smile turned more shy now. “I hope you’ll like me as much.. You’re so utterly perfect to me that sometimes I feel a bit unsure of myself.”

“Oh, no, please don’t worry about that.” I murmured into her neck. “I love that you’re more slender than I am, your body is wonderful, and all the proportions are just right. Besides, I think it’s wonderful how our bodies are so very different, complementary almost... And it seems we like each other’s very much, so.” I grinned at the end, and turned my face enough to kiss her lips softly.

We spent the next few minutes snuggling and kissing, simply enjoying each other’s closeness. I felt more life returning to my arms and legs as my body recovered a little. Rather than saying something, I shifted and flipped her around so she was beneath me. Her eyes widened slightly, clearly she hadn’t been expecting me to be quite so forward so soon. I merely smiled at her, tracing my fingers down her arms, moving them above her head. A growling noise escaped my throat, surprising even myself. “Now it is my turn, my love.” My voice turned firm as my right hand clasped around her crossed wrists, holding it in place against the pillow she was laying on.

I felt her strain a little against my grasp, though not seriously, but she was unable to budge me much due to my greater mass and positional advantage. “Oh, be still. I’ll make sure you enjoy this if you are... Though you are free to make whatever sounds you want as I explore all of you.” I nipped her jawline playfully. “In fact... I encourage it, and it would please me greatly if you were very vocal. It would definitely, shall we say, inspire me more.”

Her eyes clouded over with desire as my lips explored every part of her face carefully, trying to burn the imprints of it into my memory. I followed the lines of her finely sculpted eyebrows, her straight, narrow nose with the slightly upraised tip I so adored. My lips nipped at her full ones, ever so slightly biting down on them with my teeth and making her gasp out her approval. I explored all the more angular features of her face that gave it such character in my eyes, from her pronounced cheekbones to the lines of her jaw and the slightly raised protrusion of her chin.

I kissed her firmly, commandingly, pushing her soft lips open with my tongue and very slowly familiarizing myself with the insides of her mouth. Now that we were in private, I felt much more comfortable than before taking my time doing this, really investigating all the features, tracing her teeth, gums, and remarkably submissive, for once, tongue with my own. I felt her moan into my kiss, the sound so very enticing to my ears, and I felt energized, inspired with the power of being able to leave her gasping and breathless for once.

Her eyes were completely unfocsed, now, her voice raspy as I broke the kiss. “Oh, wow, I.. I didn’t know you could kiss like that.” Her cheeks were flushed, reddened much more than usual. “Not that I mind, it was amazing. And so hot.” Her voice lowered to a whisper by the time she finished speaking.

I smiled warmly at her. “Oh, I paid attention to what you were doing before, and I certainly enjoyed having that done, so I figured...” I nipped her lips again, playfully. “I love making you moan and gasp like that, giving you such pleasure that you can’t contain it without verbalizing it somehow... It is music to my ears, and I intend to compose a symphony today, and have you perform it.” Alecto shivered in response, clearly liking my words. “Now... let’s get some of these fancy clothes off you, and give me some more... beautifully crafted instruments to play with.” I grinned very broadly at her now, I loved her eager responses to my actions very much indeed. And it seemed like she liked this side of me, too. I didn’t really know what had come over me, as I was not normally so forward, but right now it felt exactly right to do so, and I felt like she wanted that as much as I did.

I tenderly unbuttoned her shirt, sliding it up her arms once all the buttons had come undone. I gazed at her upper body, my breath catching in my throat as her slender beauty was revealed for the first time. I touched the tips of my fingers hesitantly to her flat stomach, tracing some of the faint muscular definition I could feel beneath her incredibly soft skin. She gasped as I touched my lips reverently to the upper ridge of her hip bones, using my teeth ever so gently to nibble on the thin layer of skin that covered it. I followed the slighter curve of her hips higher where it narrowed to a slender waist. Every trace of my fingers and touch of my lips made her muscles contract, and I could feel her breaths becoming more uneven. I dipped my tongue into her bellybutton then, licking around the edges, tasting her slightly salty sweat mixed with her very own taste that was spicier and very much something I wanted more of.

After a few more moments I snaked my hands around her back, undoing the clasps on her bra in seconds. I was, after all, quite motivated by the prize they concealed. With the clasp undone, I lifted the bra up and over her head, leaving her to disentangle from the straps before placing her hands back in their earlier position, with a small smile on her beautiful, flushed face. I warmly smiled back at her in response, before focusing my eyes once more on the perfection that had been unveiled in front of me.

I reached out, stopping myself momentarily in awe, before I touched her left breast as it rested serenely on her chest from the way she was laying prone. Like I’d thought before, it was just about the perfect size for my hands and I cupped its significant full, round shape in my hand, testing the feel of it. The sight of my creamy skin against her own, its complexion several tones darker, almost olive in color, was very tantalizing. Her nipples were a dark reddish brown, especially now suffused with blood as they currently were, and eagerly at attention. I could not resist any longer, aching to taste the feel of one in my mouth.

The hard nub between my lips, my tongue tracing its contours slowly, carefully, felt incredible and I felt my arousal heat back up significantly. I was rather surprised at that, after having climaxed as much before, but apparently my body was utterly insatiable when stimulated by her presence. I alternated the stimulation of her breasts for many minutes until each nipple was extremely rigid and sensitized. Her gasps were coming almost constantly now, and she was visibly struggling to keep her hands up and away from my face. I could tell by the way she looked at me how much she wanted to tangle her slender digits in my hair. Part of my earlier determination softened at that, and I entwined my fingers with hers, leading her hands down towards my face. Nodding my consent, I released them once more and she eagerly buried her fingers in my short hair, scratching my scalp lightly with her fingertips and nails. The sensation of that sent shivers down my spine, all the way down to my once-again dripping center. I pressed my thighs together firmly, trying to ignore my own arousal for now so I could concentrate fully on her. But I could not deny that even simply touching Alecto was very exciting, stimulating to me.

Both my hands now free, I traced my fingers along the sensitive sides of her breasts and her abdomen, tracing thin lines of fire all over her skin. Eventually they reached her waistline again, and I started pulling on her pants to remove them. I wasn’t nearly as smooth at doing so as she had been, but we managed eventually to strip that garment off her. Remembering how good her touch on my lower body had felt everywhere, I was very much looking forward to trying all those things to her in return.

I kissed along the sides of her hips, first the outside of them, before moving towards her inner thighs. I could see how drenched her underwear was, the thin silk cloth completely see through even with its dark navy color, and the smell of her arousal hit me then, overwhelming my olfactory senses and tantalizing me to investigate further. I did not want to take them off quite yet, but I did deeply breathe in a few gasps of her scent, savoring the sweet, spicy mixture of tones that was so very much Alecto. It was just more pure, more powerful there, as if someone had distilled her essence and removed any diluting compounds from the mixture. It was completely and utterly intoxicating to me, and I felt nearly drunk with the intense smell of her all around my face, having very much trouble even trying to form thoughts. And the way the puffy lips of her sex were clearly outlined through the material was almost, though not quite, better and more arousing than seeing it unclothed.

I hesitated for a few moments longer, feeling and hearing her whimper in need and want for me to continue, and eventually I shrugged off the effects of her scent and presence long enough to continue my journey lower. I kissed along the sensitive skin on her lower inner thighs, and around her knees for a few moments, tracing circles with my tongue and fingers all over her muscular calf muscles, and nibbling the bone on the front end which drew sharp gasps from her throat all over again. A devious glint entered my eyes as I trailed my tongue down the arched curves of her foot pads, first one, then the other, and she jerked suddenly. I scratched the skin of her feet lightly, delighting in her shivers, before nibbling with my teeth on the soft underside of each toe. Her loud moans showed her enthusiastic approval, and I carefully sucked one into my mouth, using my tongue to slowly explore the surface of it. Especially the area in between each digit was very sensitive to my caresses, and I relished in the sounds it was producing from her for many minutes until her level of arousal had become so uncomfortably high that she verbally pleaded. “Please, Evie, please don’t tease any more. I am so frustratingly aroused right now that I feel like I will explode any moment, and I want you to do it for me. So badly... Please?”

I could never refuse a request like that, not from her, and quickly peeled her soaked panties off from where they had clung to her drenched center. My eyes lit up again as I saw her beautiful flower in all its... hairless? glory. I had not really expected that, but seeing the entire surface of her devoid of hair, simply smooth, supple skin everywhere my eye would reach... It was an incredibly arousing sight. Much more so than I had thought that would stimulate me if you had asked me about it before today. I was eager to see how it would feel without any sense of soft hairs down there tickling, caressing your skin.

Her legs were still mostly closed but even so her sex was wet, swollen enough that it had opened almost fully, revealing the treasures hidden within the many beautiful, delicious folds. I took another deep sniff of her scent, the intoxicating nature of it once more seeping into my mind, clouding my thoughts and making my own arousal rise yet higher. The ache in my own abdomen was starting to become somewhat uncomfortably intense and I squirmed a little, trying to ease the stimulation the slightest bit. I did manage to push it away from the center of my awareness for now, and resumed once more with what I was doing to her. Maybe soon I would tend to my own needs, but first it was her turn. Many times her turn. I will see to that. I promised in my mind.

My fingers trailed down her labia, carefully separating each crinkle of the folds from where they still clung to each other from the copious wetness of Alecto’s juices. Her throaty moans indicated she very much approved, as did her verbal cries of pleasure and amazement. I simply explored the soft, wet flesh with my fingers for a few moments, familiarizing myself with the similar, yet decidedly, deliciously different feel of her compared to myself. I could see little beads of her moisture rolling out of her opening with every other jerk of her muscles as I did something particularly stimulating to her body. The tip of a finger teased around the opening for a little while, dipping only slightly inside and delighting in how she gasped hard when that happened, while my thumb started rubbing slow circles over the hood of her clit, ever so slowly uncovering it more to my touch. The moment I fully applied friction to it she came, hard. A fresh flood of her arousal came from within her when her muscles spasmed powerfully, I eagerly lowered my lips to her opening to lap up the taste of her.

It tasted very good, better than I had thought. And oh, how delightful it was to be surrounded by all smooth, slippery flesh when my face buried itself in her womanhood for the first time. Her legs wrapped over my shoulders, her hands pulling me harder against her opening. It was drink, or drown, pretty much, and I drank without a second thought. After a few long licks I decided to see how far inside I could reach with my tongue, trying to get at more of the delicious fluid her body was producing for me. Her fingers tightened almost painfully as my tongue speared into her opening as far as I could manage, tenderly caressing the inner walls of her sex near the opening. I tried to keep some friction on her pearl at the same time by moving the bridge of my nose against it, and it seemed to work well enough that she climaxed against me, even more powerfully this time. I nearly felt as if she would crush me in her delirious state of overwhelming pleasure as her legs tightened powerfully around my neck. Once she calmed down more, I reluctantly pulled back as I needed to breathe very badly, having run nearly out of oxygen doing that but not wanting to stop until I could feel her spasm against my face and tongue. And oh, how it was worth it. It was so enormously intimate to do that, to kiss her down there, be utterly surrounded by her soft skin, smell and taste. It was extremely pleasurable for me to do that. I offhandedly noted that I even had a small orgasm myself just from doing that, though I didn’t really remember how I managed it. Not a full one, but still... I certainly enjoy doing that, I thought with a smirk.

Alecto managed some words, then. “Oh my, Evelynne. How did... Oh... That was indescribable, how amazing that felt to have your tongue inside me.” Her voice and eyes were filled with significant awe as she looked at me, which made me feel very good, proud on the inside.

“Oh, I was very much inspired by you, my beautiful Alecto.” I said, simply. “But I’m not done with you quite yet. Surely we can wrestle a few more orgasms out of you, no?”

She nodded eagerly. “Oh, yes. Please. I need to feel you inside me so badly. It’s like a physical need almost, now.” She paused hesitantly for just a moment, then. “I have... never yet had anything deep within me. So it may hurt me for a little while when you push inside, but please do... I want you to so badly, and it will quickly feel incredibly good. And I am very much relaxed and aroused enough, I think... Certainly wet enough.” We both smiled at the truth of that.

“Okay. I’m sorry to have to hurt you, though, my love.”

She shook her head, waving away my concern. “Don’t worry about it, it has to happen sometime and there is no one I would have this done by than you, and now...”

I nodded, trusting her trust in me. I lowered my lips to her folds once more, the muscles underneath still quivering from the aftershocks of her earlier orgasms. I started carefully suckling on her engorged pearl then, trying various patterns I could think of to see what she responded most to. Simple circles seemed to work rather well, and I did just those, slowly working her arousal up to higher and higher levels. When her breathing once more became very sharp, gasping, she nodded at me and I slipped a finger into the incredibly hot slickness of her body. The motion was momentarily paused by a barrier of tissue, and I held my finger there until just the right moment to push through.

When she started climaxing from the clitoral stimulation I pushed my finger all the way inside her, holding it still afterwards until the part of her inner passage that had never felt anything in it became more used to the foreign presence. I could tell from the wince she made during her climax that it had been quite painful, but the sight of it was already fading quickly as more pleasurable sensations took over. I curled my finger inwards, trying to find just the right spot that always felt so good inside me. Judging by her throaty moans I located it quickly and applied steady pressure there with each thrust of my finger. She was still so incredibly tight that I could feel every vibration, every spasm of her inner muscles as they massaged my digit almost painfully.

My own arousal was getting nearly out of control in its painful necessity, and I slowly removed my lips from her angrily red pearl, replacing them with a thumb while my finger inside of her still continued its pleasurable movement. I could see her lips opening once more as another wave of pleasure threatened to crash over her, overwhelm her again, and I slid my sweaty body over hers until we were face to face once more. Wrapping my other arm around her, hugging her smaller frame to my curvier one I looked her in the eyes from a very short distance away, wanting to see it in her eyes as she was lost in her orgasm. “Look at me when you come, my love. I want to see it.”

She nodded quickly, too caught up in what I was doing to be able to say anything just then. Moments later I could feel her inner muscles contract on my finger, locking it in place with the force of her spasms. When she had come down from her high, which couldn’t have been easy as I never let up with my hand tirelessly stimulating her, I whispered to her. “I am so incredibly turned on right now... Could we come together one last time, to seal this bond of ours, join our bodies together?”

Her voice was raspy, raw from her constant screams and gasps. “Oh, yes... that sounds utterly amazing, and I want that very much.” Her hand shakingly lowered itself towards my dripping sex, easily sliding inside me with two, then three fingers while her thumb started stimulating my pearl in sync with how I was touching hers. I tried grasping down on her fingers with my inner muscles, trying to make it tighter, cause more delicious friction to occur when she thrust in and out of me.

I was much closer than she was from having been so aroused without much release, and I used all my not inconsiderable willpower to keep from coming before she did. She must have sensed this, too, and slowed down her ministrations ever so slightly until she herself was almost there. Our eyes remained linked the entire time, except for a brief moment where I felt drawn to the sight, of my pale hand sliding into her darker flesh, while her tanned fingers slipped between my creamy, though currently significantly flushed, folds. The contrast of it was once again incredibly arousing to me, and I think she thought the same as I saw her eyes glued on the same sight in tandem with my own.

Our eyes met once again as I felt the tremors start for her, and I relaxed completely, removing all my barriers I had put up earlier trying not to climax. My relaxed state only lasted for a fraction of a second before we both jerked powerfully against one another, our muscles contracting rapidly in the strongest orgasm either of us had had yet. I think having it together made it more powerful, somehow, at least in my mind it had added to the considerable pleasure from before. And when it had, seeing her eyes shoot to infinity as my own did the same, while straining to look at the other person... it really was an incredible experience, and I felt even closer to her after that than I had felt before. It was such a profound experience, such a vulnerable state to completely share with another person. Some instinctual part of me wanted to share that so much with her, and having done so it seemed like another part of my mind, my consciousness had turned and clicked into place, now oriented towards this wonderful, beautiful, gasping and out of breath woman in my arms.

I tenderly kissed her jaw and throat, then shared a long, tender, loving kiss. She murmured happily against my tongue, obviously not caring she tasted herself on my lips as I was literally still drenched in her juices. That, too, made me very happy, and I simply hugged her tighter against me. She snuggled into me with a sigh. “Oh, Evie, I love how soft and cuddly you are. It’s the best, especially after what we just shared. It’s like being wrapped in the warmth of your love and affection in physical shape. I guess it is, even literally speaking.” She giggled, slightly embarrassed.

I shook my head affectionately. “I don’t care if you think it is silly, don’t ever be concerned to speak your mind to me. I very much appreciate that you are so open with how you see things, how you feel about it. It’s really quite valuable to me...” My fingertips lightly traced her cheeks. “I feel the same way, after all. Even though you are smaller than I am, your arms can be so comforting and soothing and strong, like when you held me up so well before when my legs were all wobbly... And it’s so wonderful when I feel that need to be cuddled and sheltered, and I always feel safe with you around.”

She nodded and snuggled back against me, warpping her slender arms around my neck and pretty much clinging to me as if I was her anchor keeping her secure from the rest of the galaxy. It felt good to be able to do that for her, and kissed her brow and hair, playing with some of the loosened strands that had come undone from her braid during our lovemaking. She simply purred at the attention, and I realized that she was very warm, more so than I was by far. I grinned at her. “You’re quite the little space heater, aren’t you?”

She grumbled a little, though in good humor. “Yes, I know. I have a very high metabolism, as I said. It’s nice now, but wait until it’s the middle of summer and you’re camping somewhere in the middle of nowhere, and we share a bed then.”

I giggled at her. “Well, I guess we’d just have to forgo clothes, then?”

She smirked. “You’d like that, I bet. Well, to be fair, so would I, but not around others. I don’t want just anyone to see all the glory of you that I can, after all. It is far too precious, too beautiful and rare a sight . It should be treasured, sheltered from harm and roving eyes. That aren’t me anyway.”

I mussed her hair playfully, which earned me an outraged squeak. “Well, you can fix that later. You’ve made a total mess of my hair, though I don’t really mind. It was certainly worth it.” Alecto grinned, knowing it was true and not being the least bit sorry for it, either.

She reached over, then, to her holopad and programmed an alarm into the device. “Here, as comfortable as these pillows are for most things, let’s lay down on an actual bed for a little bit. You look beyond exhausted, and I want some more of your excellent snuggles before you must leave... And it may be nice to relax and drift off into sleep for a little while?” I nodded. “I’ll make sure you have enough time to get ready before the shuttles board. That was 7 p.m.?”

“Yeah, it is. We’d probably have to leave here around 5 to pick up my bag and make our way to the shuttle departure platform. At least those things are fast, and only take a few minutes to get to the large spaceport where the actual boarding shuttles to the transport ship are.”

“Okay, that sounds good. I’ll set the alarm for 4, then, just to be safe. It’s only a little after 2, so we have nearly two hours to enjoy each other’s company, closeness.” I slowly lifted myself from her with my arms. Alecto simply sat up using her abdominal muscles, which really was quite impressive to watch from that position. I definitely enjoyed the way her muscles contracted when she did that. Call it a not-so-guilty pleasure, I suppose. I did not really believe in guilt, so yeah.

I held out my hand to her, and she clasped it eagerly, leading me towards a door opening I had missed earlier when I looked around the apartment, before we had gotten distracted by chocolate and exploring one another. We walked into her bedroom, there, which was very tastefully decorated in a similar style as the rest of her apartment, that was so uniquely hers. Ancient archaeological sites were shown next to more modern works of art, next to Intaki drawings and smaller philosophical plaques. I made a mental note to ask her about some of those later, though now I was distracted by more mundane concerns.

She saw my gaze glance around, and smiled. “The bathroom and hygiene chamber are over there, if you have to pee, or freshen up.”

I grinned at her blunt phrasing. “Yeah, I think that would be wise. I’ll just be a moment.”

I came out of the bathroom a few minutes later, feeling much better having taken care of that need. Alecto had used the time to open the covers of her spacious bed invitingly. She was already underneath them herself, probably driving away the chill with her rather remarkable heat production. As my feet padded back into the room her face popped out from underneath the covers, an inviting smile touching her lips. “Will you be so kind as to join me, sweet lady?”

I nodded, smiling myself. “Certainly, my dear. I see you’ve already started to warm up the bed for us. That is most considerate of you.” I ran, almost sprinted over to the bed and jumped on top of her, surprising Alecto and pinning her underneath me.

“Ah! No fair!” I simply grinned at her in response, not dignifying it with a verbal one. Instead, I planted a firm kiss on her pouting lips, which instantly melted it away from her features. A few moments of loving kisses later I managed to squirm into the soft covers, and Alecto happily snuggled up against my side. The mattress was made of some incredibly soft material that yielded just enough while giving support, and I already felt it drawing my over-stimulated, exhausted body into a deep, restful sleep. Even if only for a few hours, but with her next to me it really would be one of the best naps I had ever had.

I pulled her smaller form on top of me after a few more moments, wanting to feel the weight of her on my own body while we drifted off to sleep together. Our legs entwined once more, and we fell asleep like that in a tangle of limbs. My very last thoughts were of her, of the love I now knew we shared together, and how incredibly happy I was to know her, to have her be a part of my life, and me in hers. And it felt as if this was the start of a truly wonderful time of our lives, together, and if I could fall asleep like this, next to and mixed with her, every day I would be the happiest woman who ever explored the vast reaches of space.


	5. Escape Velocity

I woke up to the soft sounds of the holopad alarm going off, feeling wonderful and still utterly bonelessly tired all at the same time. There was a rather solid weight on my chest, soft currents of air moved against my upper chest and neck, and it took my sleep-addled brain a few seconds to figure out what it was. Then it hit me, that was Alecto, and I felt the warm glow of happiness suffuse my being once again at the realization that that had really happened only a few short hours ago. That we loved each other deeply, and the tender, passionate times we had shared earlier. It was by far the best feeling I had ever woken up to. I definitely can get used to this, and quickly, I thought with a smile.

Her soft voice shook me out of my thoughts. “What are you smiling about, Evie?”

I smiled warmly at her, pouring all my significant joy into it. “You, mostly. And this.” I motioned at us with my hand. “I just can hardly believe I’m really here, in your arms, snuggling with you. Having just slept in the same bed with you. It’s a bit hard still to completely wrap my mind about it, you know? I mean, it’ll get used to it very soon, I imagine. We’ll just have to train our confused brains a little, with plenty of conditioning.” I grinned at that.

She met it with one of her own. “Oh, definitely... And now we’ll have something to look forward to, for when you get back from Vylade. We’ll have to make plenty of time for that, then.” She paused. “Erm, that is if you do come back here?”

I thought about it seriously for a moment, not wanting her to think I wasn’t giving it any thought. “I am quite sure I will. Before today I had not decided one way or another, but since I have no firm idea for what institution or company I want to work, yet, considering us, I will definitely try my hand here, first. I mean, on a world this large, especially also counting the adjacent space stations and orbital platforms, there has got to be something. I don’t know if I could bear it being away from you constantly... Not when I finally found such amazing happiness in your company, your arms.”

Alecto nodded, clearly relieved. “Good... good. I must admit, it would have been very hard for me otherwise. I am not quite done here, as you know, with my studies I mean, but we could always decide to locate elsewhere after wards if that would suit your prospects better...” She chuckled, somewhat nervously. “But look at me rambling, that is neither here nor there, not today. We have plenty of time to discuss that another time. Let us enjoy what is left of our day, together, as it will be a few weeks, most likely, before I see you?”

“Yes, I was planning on staying at home for about two or three weeks, circumstances allowing. I’ll probably look for various employment opportunities in the mean time, at least narrow down the possibilities, find some leads.” I frowned a little myself. “Hopefully that will distract me from missing you too much.”

She grinned. “Yeah. I’ll have to study more than usual, keep my mind off of that. I’ve grown very fond of you quickly, my love. It’ll be hell being apart.” She thought for a moment longer. “And you’re welcome to stay here any time, if you want to and feel comfortable to, I mean. But if that would be a consideration, otherwise? I know you’re not by any means well-off right now, so if you need somewhere to stay while you look for employment, or a place to yourself, you’re more than welcome here.” She blushed rather profusely. “I’d like it if you did, even for more than a temporary solution, but I want you to make that choice of your own volition, of course. I just wanted to let you know it was an option, that I did not mind at all... And look at me rambling like that.”

I simply hugged her in response, my throat quite choked with a sudden rush of emotion. “Oh, my love, please don’t worry so much. Of course I would love to stay with you, we have known one another for quite some time already, so it is not like we’ve only barely met and know barely anything...” I kissed her fiercely, conveying once more how much I felt for her. “And it means so very much to me that you’d want me to stay here with you. And when I come back here I will certainly take you up on that, even if only for a little while. It’ll be a good exercise, right? See if we can stand being around each other for a long period of time?” I glanced at how closely entwined we were, still. “Though judging by how much time we spend trying to crawl into the other’s personal space, I very much doubt that will be an issue. I just love being around you, even if we do our own things. Just the physical presence of you near me is so soothing, makes me so content and happy. It is wonderful, quite happily so.”

Alecto nodded, her eyes slightly moist. “Aw, Evie, you really are the most wonderful, sweetest person I could have the pleasure of knowing. My life already is so much richer, better and more fulfilling for having you in it. I can’t wait to see what our future brings. I imagine it will be beyond anyone’s wildest dreams, even our own.” She grinned, but her eyes were very solemn. “I promise you that I will do whatever is in my power to make this,” she gestured between us, “work out over the long run, and I will invest as much of my time, energy and attention in it as I can. That is my promise to you, today.”

I felt salty tears leak down my cheeks at that, trying to contain them but failing to as her words touched something deep inside me. “I will promise you the same. I will be back here as soon as I can be, and of course contact you very frequently in between... And do everything I can possibly do to make sure we can stay together for a very, very long time. I want that ever so badly, and no force in the galaxy will be able to keep us apart for long. I will find some way to get past whatever obstacle is in the way, I swear that to you. I love you so very much, my love, more than I thought it was possible to feel for another person.”

I held her in my arms as she clung to me, and I to her, both of us soaking up the warmth and comfort of our little cocoon under the blankets of her bed. We were entirely sealed off from the rest of the galaxy, right then, and it was just about the two of us, and what we wanted to do. And in that sense, we were the only people who would ultimately decide whether it would work out or not. It was both scary, and incredibly empowering at the same time to really think about that.

I nuzzled her throat with my nose and mouth, wanting to feel her pulse against my lips. After a few more moments we reluctantly parted, knowing we had to get up or we’d run out of time. Alecto tossed the blankets off of our naked forms, the air slightly chilly on my skin as she rolled herself off my body. I gazed at her beautiful form longingly, trying to memorize every last curve of it for the many days I would miss her more than I’d missed anything before in my life. I could see that she was doing the same thing to my body, and we both smiled knowingly when we realized that.

We moved towards the hygiene chamber first, though, to quickly wash up enough for my long trip. There certainly was quite a bit of touching and kissing that happened inside while the water was running, but expediency kept us from letting it get too much out of hand, knowing we would get carried away if we started another round like before. It was a little easier not giving myself a taste of her intoxicating self than trying to pull back in between. I wasn’t that good at controlling myself, not yet anyway, and certainly not when it came to resisting my beautiful beloved’s many, many charms. Only minutes later we were both scrubbed clean, almost all traces from our earlier activities now gone. Except, that was, the intensely giddy grin I was still wearing every moment since I woke up. She had one, too, for that matter. And I realized that I very much loved doing even this little things with her, that weren’t in the least bit arousing, or sexual in nature... Simply washing her lovely form, taking care of those types of things, was as important, if not more so... Her well-being now mattered so incredibly much to me, it took my breath away every time I thought about it. I imagined it would for quite a while longer, until I had completely become used to it. And seeing the way she reverently touched me, rubbed a towel over the curve of my abdomen, or breasts, made me so warm deep inside. It made me feel supremely cared for, and loved, and I promised myself that I would always strive to make her feel exactly like I felt just now, forever, as long as I had breath left in my body.

Alecto giggled, then, and I couldn’t help but do the same in response. “Oh, we’re terribly in love, are we not? This is going to be a miserable time, being apart. But I suppose it will be bearable in the knowledge it is only for a short time. And I will certainly contact you by video, very often. Maybe right before bedtime, each night?” I grinned suggestively. “I think we need to ensure we have a secure line for that, but it would be ever so satisfying, and I’d hate for you to go without... release... for so very long.”

Alecto bit her lip in response, her mind clearly going to wonderful images. She scowled at me right after. “Oh, you’re terrible, now I will have that stuck in my head all the rest of today, and the week probably.” She shook her head with amusement. “Though I certainly wanted the image, so I cannot be that cross with you, after all.”

I grinned at her even more broadly. “I know, that’s what I thought. Well, shall we get dressed? I’d love to watch you walk around like that for longer, as you’re absolutely gorgeous, and so very comfortable in your own skin that is a joy to watch you move around without clothing on... But I think we need to get ready to leave before we get distracted again. I can’t quite afford to miss this shuttle.”

She nodded, and we reluctantly moved to the living room to collect our clothes. I ended up borrowing some of Alecto’s more stretchy underwear as mine was not in any condition to comfortably wear. I saw her glance at my previous pair, some indiscernible look in her eyes, and I grinned at her. “Here, keep it. I know you like the way I smell, and it’ll give you something to remind me with if you miss me enormously at some given time. And maybe I can keep yours? I would love that.” I blushed rather profusely at the request. So did she, which brought forth another round of mutual giggling. “I guess that answers that!” I added, with a laugh.

“Oh!” I almost shouted. “I had completely forgotten. I brought you something!”

Alecto’s expression turned giddy. “You did? Can I see?”

I nodded, retrieving the small bag I had stashed away and handed it to her.

She very slowly, hesitating as if wanting to stretch out the surprise, unwrapped the contents of the package. Her eyes lit up at the sight of the tea, and the small set of flowers. “Oh Evie, that is so thoughtful. I love the flowers, they are my absolute favorite ones! You remembered that from so long ago! And the tea... that is so wonderful of you...” Her hands touched the little chip with the book on it. “Oh, a book... Which one? I love books...”

I grinned at her enthusiasm. “It’s the one you were talking about off-handedly before...Investigations and Ruminations of the Ancients.” I watched her hopefully, praying she liked it.

Her first response was simply to tackle me as she flung herself at me like a squirrel jumping for a branch. I very nearly toppled over in surprise, but somehow managed to steady myself. She planted her lips on mine, giving me a very warm, passionate kiss that showed exactly how happy she was. It was exactly what I had hoped for, and it pleased me ever so much that she loved my small gifts to her as much as she did.

“Evelynne, those were the best gifts. It’s so touching that you remembered all those things I mentioned ages ago, and would get them on such short notice, just for me. And that book, I’ve been wanting to read it but hadn’t had a chance to buy it myself... so it is absolutely perfect. Thank you so much, you’re the best girlfriend in the world.”

Her face blushed fiercely as she said that, realizing that we hadn’t really talked about that. It did not bother me in the least, though, and in fact rather pleased me, as I had already thought of her as that, and more even at times. I touched her cheeks tenderly. “Oh, don’t be shy, my love. Of course I am your girlfriend, and partner, as you are mine. I think what we share is much deeper to be occupied too much with silly labels... But don’t ever be afraid of naming something to me, as it can only ever be good to make the unsaid open and explicit. It is very brave of you, and honest, and incredibly attractive in my eyes. And I love you all the more for it, especially how you can get so flustered sometimes saying these things. It’s quite endearing to me.”

She smiled, then, relieved that I felt that way and she had not made it an awkward situation by accident. We each finished dressing, then, and moved into the kitchen to try some of the nearly-forgotten chocolate treats we had made earlier. Alecto also produced a vase for her flowers while I ate one of the utterly decadent tasting chocolates. They were so very rich in flavor, it felt like a bomb went off in my mouth and I moaned rather unceremoniously.

“Ah, you like them?” She grinned at me, of course producing a blush on my face as it always did when she teased me.

I simply nodded, making more approving noises. “This is excellent, they’re going to be one of my favorite treats, I think. Today is just a day for first discoveries of many things. New lunch restaurants, new relationships, new treats...” I grinned broadly. “Not necessarily ranked in order of importance, of course.”

“I’m glad you like them. Here, I’ll pack them up in a container so you can take them with you, for on the way. You said the trip took a day or two, right?” I nodded. “We might be able to talk here and there through the holopads, but I imagine you’ll be exhausted when you actually get to Vylade initially. So maybe no long, special bed-time video conversations for the first day or two.” We shared a knowing grin at that.

“Yeah, that sounds like it’d be a good idea, probably. Also... I share a room with my little sister in all likelihood, so I am not sure if I will be able to do that much, come to think of it. Maybe I can find a time everyone is gone? I’d very much want to, myself, of course.”

She smirked. “I just bet you do. Okay, then, that’s settled...” Alecto glanced at the time. “Hmm, it’s nearing 5 pm, we should probably head towards your dormitory to collect your other belongings so we can head to the spaceport...” She thought for a moment. “Would you like me to accompany you all the way to the larger one? I don’t really have any plans the rest of the day, so it would be my pleasure. I’d like to spend the extra few minutes that’d give me with you, anyway.”

I nodded eagerly. “Oh, yes, that would be lovely. I’ll have so much time alone over the next couple days that any company, most especially yours, is absolutely welcome.” I made a face. “I am not looking forward to spending most of my time holed up in lines, and at customs. Ugh, all the red tape drives me crazy sometimes. Way too much bureaucracy in this federation of ours... if you ask me anyway.”

Alecto smiled at me in response. “Oh, you’re so wonderfully impatient. I love that about you, dearest Evie. And yes, it also drives me quite insane sometimes, but my people tend to have patience drilled into us from a very young age so I am a bit more... accustomed to it. Which makes your perspective all the more refreshing to me, to be honest. It is quite nice for a change to be around someone who really wants to do things, rather than just being concerned about how to properly go about getting the right clearances.”

We both grinned as she said that. Life at the university certainly was like that in many respects, there were thousands of little rules, tens of thousands even, and you had to get exceptions and fill out forms for absolutely fucking everything you could conceive of, and many things you couldn’t. It was infuriating and stupid all at the same time.

I collected the last of my things while Alecto ran quickly into her bedroom. She returned only moments later, her face the picture of innocence. I knew that she had something planned, but I figured she’d show me eventually. Besides, I couldn’t imagine it would be anything but good, knowing how utterly mesmerized and in love she was with me. I smiled warmly just thinking about it, about how much more wonderful today was ending than it had begun this morning. It was remarkable how quickly life could turn around for the better, though in our case I guess we had laid the ground work for this day for a few years beforehand.

We left Alecto’s apartment our arms, hands and fingers entwined as we walked. We kissed softly while we waited for the elevator, or when doors were a little slow in opening. It was utterly wonderful being with her and I soaked up every moment of it eagerly, storing it for the weeks to come when I would go mostly without it. I would certainly be loved by my family, but it wasn’t quite the same need that attention and love met in me, in my mind.

I think a few people glanced at us walking around like the lovestruck pair we were but I could not have cared less if I tried. All I had attention for, eyes for, was her. To be fair, for some of them who had cause to know either of us, it was probably surprising we were suddenly together. Though I did see a few knowing glances, as if others had already suspected we liked each other in this way. That did make me smile. Had we really been that obvious before? Yes, I am actually quite sure we were... I thought. You just didn’t want to admit it for a long time.

We reached my room at the dormitory a few minutes after. I opened my door with a finger on the door’s sensor pad, letting Alecto in. She looked around the tiny space where I had lived for years with a rather intense scrutiny. Finally, she met my eyes with a smile. “It’s certainly not the best place, but I think it kind of suits you in some ways. Very practical and all that. I can easily see you sitting here studying, or reading a book on your holopad. It’s quite appealing to me to think about you doing all those things, and I’m glad I got to see this place before you left it, because it was such a big part of your life here.”

I nodded. “Though, really... I don’t ever want to live in a space this small if I can avoid it.”

Alecto laughed heartily at that. “Yeah, that part I can understand. Also, I think I’ve spoiled you on a functional kitchen, have I not?” I nodded it was true. “That’s what I thought. I’ll make a proper hedonist out of you, yet. It’s just a matter of time before you’re lounging on a sofa somewhere sipping luxurious alcoholic beverages.” Her eyes twinkled at me as she said that, grinning.

“Yeah, that’ll happen around the same time the star here dies... I mean, I don’t mind having some luxuries in my life, but yeah... I doubt I will ever turn into one of those people.” I shook my head in mock disgust.

We shared another laugh at that vision, it was truly so incongruous with my nature that it was rather funny to think about. Though I did show her the shower area where I had had so many good times all by myself. I whispered a few highlights into her ear, just to give her mind some inspiration for those lonely nights we would be apart. And from the way her green eyes darkened, it certainly worked. “That is evil, Evelynne. Though I suppose I can forgive you. But only if you promise to enact a little replay of some of those scenes, just for me, later?” I almost swallowed my tongue when she said that, though it was quite appealing when I thought about it more. And I had agreed to it without even really having thought it through, so certainly some part of me wanted that just as much as she did. That visual, rather explicit in my mind, caused another blush to appear on my cheeks. Alecto grinned my response looking quite pleased with her ability to constantly fluster me.

I collected my bag and we set off once more, towards the shuttle platform on one edge of the campus. I supposed that was one advantage of attending such a major school; having ready access to spaceports right where you lived was quite convenient. For public access, anyway, obviously some of the more elite places for the very rich had their very own landing pads, but that was not quite something I could ever imagine having access to.

As we walked into the large building that housed the security checkpoints for the arriving and departing shuttles I grew increasingly despondent. The realization that very soon I would not see her for quite some time was really dawning now, and I was rather amazed at how much it was affecting me. Oh, hormones... Wonderful little things you are. I smiled a little smile at that. Though, it is certainly stronger for how much I am attached to her already.

A faint trace of it still touched my lips while we were waiting in line “What are you smiling about now?” Alecto sounded amused.

“Oh, well. It is just that it is rather remarkable how quickly your presence, your constant presence, has become quite important to me. Takes a bit to get used to, for me anyway.” I smiled bashfully at saying it so openly.

She hugged me to her and kissed my cheek affectionately. “Oh, Evie. You’re so silly sometimes... That is nothing to feel bad or self-conscious about. I know exactly what you mean.” She grinned. “Just better at masking it. I suppose it is a lifetime of habit, coming from a fairly long tradition of mid-level politicians and leaders.”

I smirked a little at that, knowing how she was not that impressed by either general class. Though to be fair, some of her ancestors had sounded quite remarkable, doing quite amazing things even within the rather limited capacity they served in. And her ‘donor’ probably had been a rather impressive figure. Not that I am biased about that or anything... “Yeah, that is probably true. Although I very much appreciate that you’re much more open with how you feel when it’s just us. I believe I’ll have to learn much from you in the art of better schooling what I think and feel in public. It is quite impressive to watch how much control you have.” My voice was a little awed. “It’s very admirable, I think.”

Alecto smiled warmly in response to my words. We had slowly moved forward in line to one of the ticket vending machines and she was about to speak before noticing others were waiting on us. I saw her smile a little, instead, shaking her head at herself, before punching in a series of touch commands in that efficient yet rather elegant way so uniquely hers. I enjoyed watching her, simply shaking my head with a smile gracing my features as she raised an eyebrow at me in question.

I checked the time as she finished the transaction. We still had about twenty minutes before the shuttle would start boarding, then another hour or so before the final shuttle would bring me to orbit to dock with the interplanetary transport. I would leave her, then, as the boarding check-point at the main Bourynes VI spaceport was really the final point before you got on board. No more waiting areas after that, just extremely slow ships flying around until we hit the customs checkpoints near the edge of the Nexus constellation before we jumped into the Coriault constellation that contained Vylade. There would most likely be another one right before we docked at the station in the Gallentean capital system. Especially these continually moving transport ships that had been in space for decades were very heavily scrutinized at each point, it was probably too easy for malcontents to otherwise hide on the ships.

She saw my face frown over a little once more, and led me off to a more secluded portion of the waiting area. Sitting down at a small bench she tugged my arm until I first reluctantly, then quickly eagerly folded into her embrace. Hesitation mainly because it was a very busy place, but right now my desire to be close to her, be comforted by her definitely outweighed any shyness I might otherwise feel about very public displays of affection.

I snuggled against her warm body happily, content to forget about what was to come for just a little longer. It was remarkably easy as my senses were once again slowly suffused with experiencing her. Alecto’s hugs were so very all-encompassing that it was like the entire world disappeared from around me. She had her lips pressed against my hair, hands tenderly tracing over the skin of my neck. It made me shiver in delight, and I cooed a little into her neck. Definitely my favorite place for snuggling, I thought contentedly.

I heard her growl softly, somewhere from deep in her throat and murmured a questioning. “Hmm?”

Her lips were still on my hair and it was easy to hear her voice even as soft and low as it was. “Oh, someone was casting disapproving glances our way. As if there’s anything wrong with showing affection in public. In fact...” Her voice trailed off, and I could clearly visualize her expression as I felt her arms tighten around me almost possessively, pulling me closer against her body.

I certainly didn’t object to that, and giggled softly at her reaction. “I love you, Alecto...” I whispered into her neck. “Especially when you get so very rightfully annoyed at people like that. It is very appealing, charming even.” I heard her growl in what I knew to be mock outrage. “Oh, hush, you. I’m just teasing. And you are utterly charming in my eyes, so better get used to me saying that if I want to.”

Alecto chuckled. “Yeah, that’s true. I’m just not used to being called that, and from anyone else I would not like it. But it is rather appealing coming from you in a way. I’m sorry I get this way, anyway... I hope I did not make you uncomfortable. I just cannot stand it when people feel like they have to object to someone else showing love, of all things. It is utterly ridiculous.” She mussed my hair a little, affectionately. “But let us get back to enjoyment, there’s not enough time in my life to worry about that kind of thing, anyway. Not when I can snuggle with you instead.”

I felt a bit more adventurous than I normally would have in this situation as my face was currently completely hidden, and started nibbling on the silky skin of her neck. She tensed ever so slightly, and I could feel her breath deepen in response. I didn’t really want to escalate this, of course, not here, but it was so very hard to resist nibbling the soft, so very sensitive skin that was right there, and I did not care to try. I was just happy nuzzling into her like that, hearing tiny little gasps only barely audible underneath the sound of her breath as I tested her control rather significantly.

We were sadly interrupted only minutes later by the overhead announcement. “The shuttle to spaceport Epsilon will be boarding in five minutes. Please make your way over to the boarding gate and present your tickets when asked.”

We sighed simultaneously, and I reluctantly disentangled myself from Alecto’s embrace. I stretched my body, the still-exhausted muscles from earlier protesting once again being awakened from their rest. Poor things were probably very confused right now. She smiled at me, a brow raised questioningly. I chuckled, adding. “Seriously, when I get home, I am spending two whole damn days in bed to recover.. My muscles are so very sore, though pleasantly so.” My voice lowered and I leaned towards her ear, whispering. “It will be a wonderful reminder, though. It will almost be like having you there, though not quite. But still, the physical evidence of what we did is very nice, in itself.” I blushed fiercely. “Also, that, too.”

Alecto giggled at my blush. “You’re so cute when you get embarrassed by these things... But we should head over to the gate so we don’t miss the connecting flight. While I don’t mind having you here for another day while we sort out replacement tickets, I imagine your family wouldn’t be so pleased.” I nodded, smiling. “Besides, I’ll have you back here soon enough, it’s only fair to give them some time with you, too. I can imagine so vividly now how hard it must be to not see you around, and I cannot imagine doing so for several years.” She kissed me softly. “Make sure you enjoy the time you have with them, okay? At least now that you’ve graduated and will work soon, you may be able to take time off and visit them much more frequently.”

I nodded, touched that she had thought about them, now of all times. “I agree, I am very happy about being able to do that. I’ve not seen little Sophie in years, and I want to spend a lot more time around her, see her grow up into a beautiful young woman... Tell her about all the stupid mistakes I made when I was that age, talk about silly things together like sisters do. It’ll be so much fun.” I was getting rather excited just talking about the prospect of it.

We quickly made our way over to the gate, nearly running as we had lost track of time again. We were among the last people to go through before it closed. Thankfully, the shuttle was not entirely filled and we found a quiet place near the back of the small transport ship. Shuttles such as this were capable of interplanetary flight in theory, although these versions had most likely been modified to be better suited for atmospheric flight and higher passenger capacity at the expense of space faring features.

Moments after we had sat down the shuttle started to lift, quickly making a swerve in mid-air with its powerful thrusters and shooting diagonally upwards. I could see the rapidly receding campus below us as we sped off at nearly 300 meters per second. The Epsilon spaceport was only about one hundred and ninety kilometers away from the campus and it would only take about twenty minutes to cover the distance at our current velocity. I sighed happily. I fucking love technology.

Alecto managed to squirm enough in her chair that she found a way to lay her head on my upper chest, one cheek resting against the softness of my breasts. Her arms wrapped around my neck as I embraced her now, our earlier roles switching very organically as I sensed that she now needed me to hold her close, cradle her to me.

I simply pressed my lips against her nose, then placed kisses over her eyelids and brow as I lovingly looked at the slender woman that meant so much to me. Her eyes were rather moist as she struggled not to cry right then, and I murmured soft words of affection and love into her ear as my fingers stroked her incredibly soft hair. She clung to me intensely for a few more minutes as I had clung to her before, and it made me supremely happy to know I could give her such comfort on the rare occasions she needed it as badly as she did now. She was normally so strong, composed, that it was especially touching that she allowed herself to be so vulnerable around me. It made me feel quite special, and I treasured that feeling, that honor she had entrusted me with.

The intensity of her need slowly lessened as we drew closer to our destination, Alecto finally detaching altogether as we felt the shuttle starting to descend once more. Our lips met in a sensual kiss of shared emotion that made my heart do little back flips with how wonderfully sweet and intense it was. The deceleration intensified, and we drew apart with smiles on our faces before the g-forces caused us to smash our teeth together or something equally unpleasant. You never knew when the pilot decided to swerve to avoid some bird, and I did not want to find out exactly what that felt like. Nothing good, I imagined, and felt comfortable leaving it at that without ever receiving first-hand knowledge of the experience.

People started filing out of the shuttle after the doors opened. We were among the last to leave as our seats had been all the way near the back. When I stepped out of the shuttle I was momentarily dazed by how enormously huge this place was. It had been years since I last came here, and the details of the memory had faded enough over time that it was like stepping inside it for the first time all over again. This arrivals hall alone could have housed most of my dormitory, and I knew it was one of hundreds as most of the traffic from this part of the planet converged on the sprawling spaceport. It was essentially the size of a large city, serving as the transit hub connecting over a billion people to the vast reaches of space.

I saw her looking at my awestruck behavior with another one of her luminous expressions, and I smiled shyly, somehow managing this time not to blush. We clasped hands again and followed the signs to the general departures information lobby. I knew from experience that I’d have to head through security about fifteen minutes before the shuttle left, at the latest, giving us just under an hour to spend together. She would not be able to follow me through the checkpoint, and I felt a more gloomy sensation momentarily pierce through the constant joy I had been filled by for most of the day

She used the tips of her fingers to touch my face tenderly, turning my head towards her. “Hey, now, none of that my love. Let’s just enjoy the last time we have together today, we can miss each other and pine dramatically later. In fact, I will certainly join you in spirit, then. But let’s get something delicious to drink, perhaps some coffee? I’ve seen the awful stuff you used to put inside yourself, and I have been dying to treat you to a properly brewed version.” She was rather giddy saying that, and it proved infectious. Within moments, the darker mood had left me again, at least for the time being. She’s right, of course... I thought. If I spend this hour being all sulky I will surely regret it later.

We headed over to one of the small cafeterias off the main departures plaza after figuring out what security checkpoint I needed to go to. I sat down in a tiny booth, trusting her to order something delicious for me. She came back a few minutes later with a gigantic mug filled to the brim with aromatic, deliciously dark coffee. I took a slight sip and basked in the complex, bitter flavors caressing my taste buds. It tasted very strongly like coffee was supposed to, I imagined, and I rather liked the taste. of it. Certainly nothing like the cheap stuff I was drinking before. Of course, who knew how much this treasure would cost. I was certainly going to indulge in the treat, though.

Alecto watched my expression as I was processing the taste of it, smiling. “You’re so interesting to watch, Evie. I can read so much from your expression, it is like reading an encrypted disk that I mostly know the keys for. Quite the challenge, but so very stimulating to think about, and very rewarding when you do figure things out.” I blushed a little at the intense scrutiny. “It’s really quite endearing, I think... I take it you like it?”

I nodded furiously, causing her to laugh again at my enthusiasm. “Oh, it is the best I’ve had. Do let me know later what type it is, I can save it for special occasions, perhaps? It seems too good by far to be something I could afford to drink all the time, but for rare, special events it would be delightful.” She just smiled warmly, pleased at doing something simple that I enjoyed so much. I felt a little self-conscious once more and sought to change the topic. “Could you tell me some more about your family, where you grew up?”

Alecto nodded, thinking for a moment where best to start. “Well, as you know I grew up on the Intaki homeworld, Intaki V, though I was not born there. My parents were on Vylade at the time, in YC 86, when my mother prematurely went into labor contractions. Rather than make a last minute trip back to their home my father decided it was better to simply deliver me in one of the hospitals the diplomatic corps used. Apparently quite the nice place, I hear it told.” She smiled. “But we traveled back to Intaki V very soon after when my parents heard my great-great-grandmother was dying, and it was decided that I would be the recipient of her spirit so that it would live on forever, at least in part.”

She took a sip of her own coffee, before continuing. “I don’t remember too many details of my childhood, beyond endless, endless lessons in all manner of subjects. A lot of diplomacy and etiquette training, obviously, as well as all the normal things children learn about. Except I mostly had private tutors as a child because my parents traveled around very much to different diplomatic embassies all over the Federation, and even beyond. I had a pretty good childhood, though I did not see as much of my parents as I would have liked when I was younger, they were so busy all the time.” My fingers closed on her hand in sympathy as I could tell it did hurt her to think about, still. “I mean, they clearly loved me deeply, but I sometimes wish they had a more open way of showing it, and did so more often. More like how you talk about your family being, I mean. I don’t think they quite approve of my chosen interests, either. Being an archaeologist, whether one in the field or at a university somewhere is not quite our family tradition, as they see it...”

I pressed a kiss to the back of her hand, tenderly. “Oh, my dearest. I’m sorry to hear that. I will just have to introduce you to my little family, then, as I am sure they will be as smitten by you as I am. Well, maybe not that much.” I chuckled. “But especially once they see how you look at me, how you treat me with such tender love and care, they’ll be sold on you within moments of meeting you. And I am sure that they’ll welcome you with open arms. So you can have a second family that loves you just as much, just differently, if you want to I mean...” I got a little flustered as I said those words.

She smiled radiantly, leaning forward over the small table separating us to kiss me passionately. “Oh, that means so much to me, my sweet Evelynne. I would love that ever so much, and I cannot wait to meet all of your family. They sound wonderful. More like what I always imagined a real family would be like.” She softly whispered the last part, and it nearly made me cry to see that kind of sadness, wistfulness in her voice. I scooted around the bench until I was right next to her, and folded her into an embrace once more. She clung to me with relief, soaking up the comfort I gave her. Small splashes of wetness that dripped down her cheeks soaked into the fabric of my shirt, and I let her cry, softly rubbing circles on her back to soothe her, until she finally stopped her silent emotional release.

I realized that it was nearly time to get ready, and kissed away the traces of wetness that remained on her cheeks with light, fluttery touches of my lips. That brought a warm smile to her face, shining through her still glittering eyes. She seemed to appreciate that I did not otherwise acknowledge her tears, and in a few more moments she had regained her composure, though she remained snuggled up close to me. “Alecto, love, I think we have to head towards the gate, I am sad to say. I think it is nearly time...”

She nodded. “Yes, I believe it is. But before we go, I have something else for you.” She rummaged in her purse before retrieving a small module from it, handing it to me.

“Is that what I think it is?” I gasped in surprise.

She nodded, smirking. “Yeah. Though that’s a vague statement, my dear. It is an upgrade module for your holopad that will allow secure transmissions between it and its companion.” She tapped her fingers on the cover of her own. “I thought that would be very useful for us to have, as I very much dislike the idea of not being able to contact you whenever I want.” She blushed a little at that. “I hope you do not think that is strange. It is modeled after some of the technology used by capsuleers, though it is obviously not surgically implanted. That would be weird.” We giggled at the thought. “Though I suppose it’s pretty cool, too. Still, mostly weird.”

I laughed at her silliness. “Thank you, though. That is an amazing gift, and I will certainly make excellent use of it. Do you know what the range on it is?”

She thought for a moment. “Well, it should work almost anywhere in the Federation, for sure... It is something like fifteen light-years? Though obviously at extreme ranges it would not work as well for real-time applications... we could still use it to send written messages instead.”

I hugged her once more, struck speechless by the thought behind this. And at what it must have cost, but I knew better than to bring that up, as I trusted her judgment more than enough to know that if she offered it to me, it was more than worth whatever the price had been. “Thank you, this will make our time apart so much more bearable, as we can talk together nearly any time we both have a moment free. Rather than having to use cumbersome public pathways that take time to set up and are much less stable and secure.”

She nodded. “Yeah, it actually is the same technology that is used in certain communications implants, though for that it needs to connect with cybernetic adaptors in the person’s brain. But look at me again, getting all distracted on tangential matters.” She blushed for once.

“That’s fine, Alecto. I don’t mind, I love learning about those things.” I placed a warm kiss on her lips, spending a few more moments familiarizing, exploring her mouth with my tongue and hearing her gasp into my opened lips. “Hmm, I will miss your taste... It is truly sublime. But I think we must go now, for real, or I will miss the shuttle.”

She nodded. We set off together for the security gate that would separate us for the next few weeks. We reached it mere minutes later, and time came to say our temporary fare-wells. For real, this time. I embraced her firmly, pressing her body into my own with both arms as I lifted her lighter mass off the ground ever so slightly. She held onto me with her own arms, and we kissed tenderly, lovingly for a few minutes until the announcement blared overhead that boarding time for the Bourynes - Vylade interplanetary transport was now.

I reluctantly let her go, not able or willing to stop my tears from seeping out of my eyes now. Her eyes were equally wet, and we whispered soft words of affirmation and love. She gave me one last hug and a kiss that left streaks of her salty tears on my own face where they mingled with my own, before gently pushing me away. “I love you so much, Evelynne. And I will see you again before we even know the time will have passed. Now go, before you’re late.”

I nodded, my voice rather hoarse. “As I love you, my dearest Alecto. I will be back. The exact day I will tell you later once I know for sure. But it will be over before too long, and then we can be together once more. And I won’t leave your company for quite some time then.” Barely audibly, I added. “And I promise nothing can keep me from you.” I saw her form a similar phrase on her full lips, in acknowledgement of my own promise, and we shared a smile of understanding.

I turned from her then and walked towards the security gate before she could see a renewed flood of tears coming from my eyes. I knew it would pass soon enough, and my elation at being together with her would once more return, and I did not want her to feel helpless seeing me so upset without being able to kiss me and make me feel better. She hated that helplessness, and doing this for her was something that I could do right now, if nothing else.

I saw the security officer look at me with a sympathetic look, his eyes glancing past me to where Alecto must still have been. He did not say a word, probably sensing it would only upset me further if he had, but he clearly was affected by the depth of our misery at being separated. He instead efficiently checked my boarding ticket and led me through a scanner that could pick up any illicit substance known to man. It beeped approvingly, and I was allowed through. Walking to the end of the hallway until I was far enough away she wouldn’t have been able to discern the wetness on my face, I turned around. She was still there and I waved at her for a moment, as a final gesture. She returned it, even managed a smile that I could barely make out on her face from this far away, and I smiled back at her in return, before turning around once more and running towards the actual boarding gate.

It was nearly a kilometer away from here, and I was winded by the time I reached it. The shuttle had already started boarding so it was a good thing I ran that quickly. It took the remaining reserves out of me, though, and all the momentous events of the day, all the activity finally caught up with me as I very nearly collapsed in a heap on the floor as I reached the back of the line of passengers waiting to board the ship. I somehow managed to steady myself against the railing next to me, and gulped in big mouthfuls of air to get some oxygen back into my cramping muscles. Still, the reminder of what we had done earlier, why I was so very exhausted, caused a wide grin to break through my sadness. Three weeks really was not that bad, when you thought about it. Not in the face of a very long time together after that, right?

I did not really think about what, or who rather, I was looking at as I grinned like that, quite obviously thinking, to anyone who possessed working eyes anyway, about something extremely pleasing as I felt my skin flush from the mental images. A deep voice disturbed my recollection of how she had filled me, stretched me so thoroughly that time... “I did not know I was that good looking.”

I would have fallen over in surprise as the contrast was so jarring with what I had been thinking about, if strong hands hadn’t caught my arms. It took me a few moments to figure out exactly what was going on, until I realized that it was not Alecto who had caught me. Definitely not, by the feel and looks of them, as this person was decidedly male, and she was most definitely not. I turned bright red as my mind finally processed what he had said, and what I must have looked like at the time considering my internal visuals. Sputtering, it took me more seconds to find words as my tongue did not quite cooperate. “Ah, NO! I mean, no, I wasn’t... Not that you’re bad to look at, but no I was most definitely NOT looking at you like that...” I knew I was rambling, but given my current state I did not much care.

He chuckled. “Ouch, you sure know how to crush a guy’s hopes and dreams... My apologies, sincerely so, it really seemed like you were looking at me.” He thought for a moment. “Must have been some memory you were having, then, to make your face light up like that... But then, you can’t blame me too much, my rugged good looks do inspire that reaction in people quite often.”

I smiled at his response as I could tell he was not being disrespectful. Just scandalously flirty, but then again, some people were like that and it came rather naturally to them. I knew Alecto and I certainly flirted outrageously like that with each other all the time. “I’m sorry to crush your dreams like that, but no. I was not thinking about you. Just remembering some pleasant memories...” I was getting lost in thought again. “I’m Evelynne, by the way. Thank you for catching me, today has been very exhausting and I would have probably broken my face if you had not caught me then. Though, you did cause me to fall in the first place, so it would have been your fault to begin with.”

“Ouch again.” He grinned at me in a friendly way. “The name of this strapping young man whose ego you are efficiently obliterating with your rude remarks...” He winked at me, teasingly. “His name is Max, by the way, or Maximillius in full, but I killed the last person who called me that who wasn’t a parent.” I shook my head at him with amusement. He was rather funny, I had to give him that. A smirk touched his lips. “So, who’s the lucky guy? I’m assuming you were thinking of those kinds of memories?”

A blush once more crept up my cheeks, and I coughed. “Not a guy, actually. Her name is Alecto, and she is wonderful. The strongest, and smartest and most loving person I have ever known. And I was simply thinking about how deeply I love her, and she loves me. It was beautiful.” My voice filled with awe until it was nearly palpable around me.

Max seemed to pick up on it, too. He smiled at me gently, seeming to understand. “That... really does sound amazing. You’re lucky to have her, to be with someone like that who can make you that happy. It’s something you should hold on tight to, and never let go of, but I’m sure you know that already.” He grinned again. “Though my heart still lies shattered from your cruel rejection, and I fear it will never recover... And let me know if she goes insane and leaves you.” Adding that last part with a wink.

I laughed as we moved another place forward in the line. “Yeah, I”m sure you’ll be crushed forever. Something tells me you have no lack of female attention, or companionship.” He merely smiled, not answering either way, though that was an answer of its own. “Exactly my point. And I’m not even going to dignify your kind offer with a rejection. You’re an angel, a paragon of virtue, truly.”

He chuckled. “Well, can’t fault me for trying, right?” I guess that’s true, I thought. “Where are you going in Vylade, if I may be so bold to ask? Visiting Alecto?”

I shook my head, a bit sadly. “No, though I wish she could be there as well. I am returning home for a few weeks to visit my parents and sister... I haven’t seen them in years so that will be wonderful. Still, it’s not easy to be apart from her for so long.” I saw his smile at that. “Oh, shut up. I know three weeks isn’t that much time, but we have only just begun exploring our bond together, so it is most unfortunate timing...” I blushed once more, my voice trailing off as we nearly had reached the entrance gate to the shuttle.

He laughed rather heartily at my embarrassment. “That’s fine, I am only teasing you, Evelynne. I do think it is great, and I won’t begrudge you that at all. Cherish it, is all I can say. I know I would in a heartbeat if I were in your shoes and knew someone that amazing... It is a rare thing to find, you know.”

I nodded, knowing the truth of that. As we went through the next checkpoint and made our way to the shuttle I waved at Max again, gesturing to invite him over and sit next to me. He was very funny, actually, in a roguish way that was so over the top that it wasn’t at all bothering me, as I knew he wasn’t really trying to flirt with me, not seriously anyway. And I had so few friends that it would be nice to chat with someone, maybe get to know him well enough over the next few days to actually start up a friendship... And it’d help keep my mind off the worst intensity of missing Alecto. Just thinking about her brought a grin to my face, though it was laced with a bit of sadness and a lot of longing. Oh, how badly I wanted to be close to her, to snuggle up in her arms and drift off to sleep with her.

I sat down in one of the window seats as I loved watching these trips to orbit, the few times I had experienced them before. It was an utterly gorgeous, enchanting and inspiring sight to my eyes. When I first traveled to the University of Caille five years ago it had been one of the biggest reasons I had chosen my concentration as I had. I loved ships, and had wanted to learn everything about them the moment I first stepped on board of one.

Max joined me a few moments later, sitting down next to me with a smile. I had just plugged the new module into my holopad, playing with its functionality a little to see how it worked when Alecto’s face popped up in a corner of it. Intrigued, I tapped it with my finger and it enlarged to fill up the entire screen. She smiled at me warmly. “Hi, Evie! I just wanted to check that you’d made the shuttle in time as I realized we were cutting it a bit too close saying goodbye... And to show you real quick how this new toy of yours works.” She grinned, eyes playful and bright.

“Hi...” I murmured back at the screen, rather surprised it was so easy to talk to her now. It filled me with wonder once more. Surely this would make our absence a lot easier to handle, being able to see her as if she was right in front of me. “I love you.” I told her simply. “And miss you, already, but it’s not so bad, especially with being able to talk to you like this.”

She grinned happily at me. “I know! Isn’t it awesome? That’s why I got one for you, as my parents used them all the time for their private conversations, and it worked so marvelously. And I love you too, my dearest Evie, so very much. I’ll let you go again, I just wanted to check you had made the connection.” Her voice trailed off a little. “And say goodbye again, as I am terrible at doing so.” Her cheeks flushed a little, the blush visible even on the screen in front of me.

“Me too. Me, too.” I added, sharing a warm smile with her filled with longing. “I’ll contact you when we get to the ship and I have time to get settled in, okay?”

Alecto nodded. “I’ll hold you to that, then...” She added teasingly. “Find somewhere private, okay? I might have a little surprise for you.” I turned scarlet and simply promised her I would. A few moments later the screen went dark again, and I sighed happily.

“Yep, you’ve got it pretty bad. But I can’t blame you, she sounds, and looks, like a wonderful catch.” Max’ voice shook me out of my thoughts, and I groaned.

“Oh, dear, I completely forgot I was not alone... She kind of has that effect on me, forgetting about other people, I mean, when she’s near.” I sighed. “Oh, look at me rambling again.”

He shook his head in amusement. “Nah, don’t worry about it. Like I said before, you guys are really great together, I think. So...” I raised an eyebrow at him, waiting for his question. “You two available for a threesome?”

I punched him in the arm for that, as hard as I could. It really fucking hurt, too, as he had way too much muscle there, but at least he winced a little. I glared at him for added effect. “Jerk. And fuck, your arm is solid. What are you made out of, brick?”

“Ow, what did you do that for!” He sounded indignant for a moment, then chuckled. “You have a pretty good punch, by the way. That actually did some damage, more than I thought it would be possible for someone such as you to do, anyway.” He rubbed his arm, wincing slightly as his fingers touched the part of his biceps where my knuckles hard landed.

I scowled back at him. “What do you mean, someone like me?” I crossed my arms in front of me, which had the added bonus of pushing my breasts up a little higher making their size and shape even more pronounced than normal, just see the effect that would likely have on him. “As for where I learned how to punch, my dad taught me self-defense. And I train a lot, mostly individual exercises and a little bit of martial arts.”

“Uh, huh... Sounds like more than a little bit.” He was trying not to stare at my breasts, which eventually broke my composure and I giggled at the look on his face. “You are positively evil, you know that? That is cruel and unusual punishment, and is probably more properly classified as an act of torture. Damn, woman, you can’t do that to a guy with a healthy imagination like me!”

I grinned back at him. “Well, you totally deserved it. I mean, really? Eww. Nothing personal, Max, but I can honestly say that I have no desire to do that with you, at all, at any time.” I crinkled my nose a little. “I mean, you’re just too solid, it’s not very appealing. And bulky.”

Max shook his head sadly. “Again, you crush my poor spirits. Twice, no, three times in one day. I will need to do much pep-talk later tonight to get over the rejection and hurt from you so coldly shooting me down.” He mused thoughtfully. “Either that, or see if I can find someone more amenable to my advances. Maybe you can help scope out potential targets? You certainly have a good eye for beauty. I mean, damn.” He whistled appreciatively, then grinned hopefully at me.

I laughed in response. “Maybe... Though it would depend on the particulars of the situation.” And you deserve some more payback for that comment. Just wait... I smiled in anticipation. That’s going to be hilarious, actually. “Besides, you’re lucky Alecto’s not here as I think she would have strangled you for saying that. Possibly, anyway. She can be a little fiercely protective of me, which is very nice.” I grinned again. “So... what are you doing on Vylade?”

He told me he was going there mostly for business, though he didn’t quite specify what his business consisted of in explicit terms. It was a little shady, but somehow complemented his character, fit him, rather well. Apparently it was some type of medicinal supply, though it could have been anything from generic pharmaceuticals that were still under monopoly licensing on that world to, shall we say, recreational varieties. I didn’t really care, honestly, as I had a rather good sense of people and I could tell he wasn’t a bad guy. He did tell me he would be staying with his little sister, though only little in the sense she was younger than him. Sarah, his sister, was 25. I joked he must be ancient then, and he once again grasped his heart in mock lethal agony. It was pretty funny, actually, and I was glad that I had such a good distraction to keep me from thinking about how badly I missed Alecto all the time. I still did, but at least it was bearably pushed back deeper in my consciousness. My love for her shone bright as always, and I held the feeling close to me at all times.

The shuttle started rising, the more powerful engines easily capable of breaking escape velocity for Bourynes VI. We shot upwards at incredible speed and we stopped our conversation for a few minutes until enough of the gravitational and accelerating forces had faded. The rest of the way we mostly spent with me critically giving him feedback on which of the other passengers on our shuttle would be his best target. Apparently my incessant teasing remarks had crushed his fragile masculine ego, and it needed replenishment. I thought it was quite funny, in a way, though also very foreign to my mind at the same time.

Still, I probably saved him from some certain rejections as I was naturally very observant and had picked up on several of the women he found appealing being unavailable in some way. Whether it was by spotting some type of ornament they wore that signified commitment, or the way I had overheard them mentioning a partner. I steered him away, too, from one obviously pregnant woman. How he missed that I had no earthly idea... Probably got too carried away admiring her enlarged breasts to spot the also clearly enlarged belly underneath. Though I had to admit the expecting mother looked absolutely amazing. Damn, I love breasts. File away for later study. I felt my face heat up as my mind shot to a curiously appealing thought of what Alecto might look like if she was ever pregnant. I very nearly drooled at the mental image of her slender body transformed like that, soft, round curves everywhere. Okay, that’s enough of that, self. I had to rip my mind away from thinking about her like that or it would be a very uncomfortable day. Also, moving a little fast aren’t we? I chastised myself, though the other part of my mind immediately replied that it was hard to argue with the attraction, or the desirability of both the process and the end result. I did know that I wanted children, even if much later in life... But it certainly was something I had thought about, and wanted very much. And Alecto would be a wonderful partner to have children with, I could tell that already just from how utterly considerate and thoughtful she was, and always tried to make sure my comforts were taken care of. We’d have to talk about that, some day. Though definitely not any time soon.

“Umm, Evelynne? Are... you okay?” Max’ voice shook me out my thoughts of Alecto looking like that, and kids rather abruptly.

“Oh, err, yeah. Sorry, spaced out for a moment there.” He smirked at me, though he could not have guessed what I was thinking of. He probably just assumed my mind was thinking about amazing sex. “What about her?” I tried distracting him from my embarrassment. It worked rather well, better than I had expected it to. Hmm, good to know, distracting Max is rather simple. I grinned.

He considered the woman I had pointed out to him just then. She was actually stunningly beautiful. Not exactly my own type. I had to admit, as the incredibly expensive attire and assortment of ostentatious jewelry were not really something I normally found appealing. Didn’t quite work with my very spartan preferences, or the more simple, though equally beautiful, aesthetics Alecto so favored that I absolutely adored. But she had an incredibly attractive face I remembered from before, full red lips, piercing blue eyes, all her features spaced perfectly apart as to approach the ideal face one could imagine. And her body was... well, almost unreal. Didn’t quite compare to Alecto, I could honestly say, as I doubted anyone could in my eyes, but damn. Her expensive, tailored shirt perfectly fit firm breasts that were slightly larger than my own significant ones. My face blushed rather profusely as I imagined the look on Alecto’s face if I wore something showing that much cleavage. I’d have to try that some time, she would definitely love it. The woman had long, elegant limbs, all perfectly formed and accessorized to draw attention to just the right places, to maximize her significant natural beauty. I mean, really, I could definitely see the beauty, and appreciate her form very much on an aesthetic level. She was a pure work of art, that was for damn sure.

I glanced over at Max, and I think he was equally awe-struck. “Wow, Evelynne. You have a good eye, I don’t even know how I missed her.”

I grinned back at him. “Well, you probably were still too busy trying to figure out how to con me into that threesome at the time.”

He winced. “Ouch. Way to remind me of that dark period in our history. Have you no mercy?” I grinned, shaking my head. “Well, that settles that. I’m going to see if she doesn’t want to grab a drink with me when we get on that flying bathtub of a transport.” He considered something for a moment. “It’s a bit odd that she would travel on a ship like that, as she looks rich enough to afford a regular, fast transport. Maybe there’s a story there?”

I shrugged, not really caring too much personally. Besides, I was trying to think of how to best exact my revenge from earlier. He definitely had that coming. I had to work very hard not to cackle like a maniac just thinking about it, but somehow managed to contain that side of myself. Besides, it’d give away my surprise, and I totally wanted to see the look on his face when I put this into motion. He was still subtly glancing at the woman so I doubted he had any idea. Perfect.

We were breaking through the higher layers of Bourynes VI’s atmosphere and I could see the features of the continent we had just left receding rapidly underneath us. Seeing the visual evidence of my Alecto hurtling away from me made me sad again for a few moments until I managed to shake myself out of the gloomy thoughts. Instead, I looked at the amazing spectrum of colors the star made as it irradiated the upper reaches of the atmosphere with its various forms of solar radiation.

Then I saw the enormous transport as we cleared the last pull of the planet’s gravitational well. It looked like a repurposed freighter and was truly giant in dimensions. Capable of moving nearly one million cubic meters of cargo in its original form, it had been modified to allow thousands of passengers to comfortably make long trips. If you did not care about getting anywhere fast. The freighter itself was slow, and due to the vast amount of passengers it held at any given time, ther waiting times at customs check points were absolutely horrendoes. It sometimes took nearly an entire day before the transport would be cleared for jumps into an adjecent constellation. But they were cheap, which is why many people still used the things. I mean, going to another constellation for a few hundred ISK? Yes, please. Sign me up. I supposed I already had, so yeah... I definitely saw the value in them.

But damn, the smell in the things was horrendous. You needed some serious olfactory blocks to stay on one. Probably a function of the fact that they had been flying for decades, and it was hard to get certain smells out without really taking apart the entire ship. The corporations that operated the transport lines didn’t care enough, and as long as we had olfactory blockers available, the passengers didn’t care that much, either. Possible career path: design a non-smelly transport? I grinned.

A few minutes later the shuttle was gliding into the docking bay of the giant transport freighter. It touched down swiftly, smoothly. The artificial gravity generators on the ship generated slightly less gravitational force than I had gotten used to on Bourynes, but it was close enough I wasn’t flying around like a ball on a trampoline as I got up from my seat. The passengers filed out of the shuttle in an orderly line. My nose was already being assaulted by the awful stench of the ship, and I made my first priority once on the thing to get a damn olfactory blocker. They sold them everywhere, obviously, so that shouldn’t be too hard. There’d be serious riots on board otherwise.

Max was just in front of me, and I could see him keeping track of where his ‘target’ was going. Again, I had to say, she was very attractive, especially watching her move, or rather, glide across the landing bay. Also, the swaying of her hips was rather mesmerizing to watch, I had to admit. I did wish Alecto was here, as I imagined watching people would be a lot more fun then. Her wit was incredibly sharp, so it amused me thoroughly to hear her comment on pretty much anything. Besides, comparing our aesthetic taste in people was interesting. I liked knowing these things about her, it rather fascinated me, and I knew she felt the same way with what I liked.

I did spot a vendor selling the blockers, then, and made a beeline for it. Some of the first-time passengers were milling around confused, still, but many of the others had already sprayed the blocker into their nasal passage. I imagined frequent travelers probably carried them on their person, but I did not have that foresight. Max followed me, buying one blocker for himself for a rather pricey 55 ISK. But still, it beat choking on the fumes of this thing. The universe only knew what kind of diseases you’d get living on one of these. I bet they hid those stories from the news.

I was considering what to do when I had lost sight of him for a moment, finding him completely gone. I scoured the landing bay, finally spotting him on the far end where he had found the woman we’d been admiring before. Wow, the guy moves fast. Judging from the way she had not run away screaming or punched him, he wasn’t doing all that badly, either. I had to admit, he was quite charming when he tried to be, and if I had not been so deeply in love with Alecto and interested in bulky, muscled guys, I would have been tempted. Heh.

I grinned, moving over to where they were standing. I was a pretty good reader of body language, and it seemed she was quite interested in him. Perfect. Payback time. I grinned a little, though quickly hid it as I got closer. The woman was coyly playing with her hair as she listened to something Max said, laughing melodically. She had a very nice voice, actually. And the way she leaned ever so slightly towards him... Yeah, she was definitely into the guy.

As I came within a few meters of them I heard his reply. “Oh, I am certainly available later. How about a drink?” Okay, then, showtime... I grinned deviously in my mind, thinking of Alecto and putting the most gushing, love-struck look on my face that I could produce. And steeled myself. This is for a good cause... I can do this!

I noticed that she saw me, then, her eyebrow rising questioningly. Before she could say anything, I stook up to the tips of my toes as I pressed myself against his back, wrapping my arms around his muscular chest from behind in a very intimate manner, my lips planting a rather passionate kiss on his neck that could not possibly be mistaken for something anyone but a lover would do. I made my voice come out high, almost sickeningly sweet and lilting. “Oh, darling! I missed you so very much! I’ve been absolutely dying to get back to our room...” My voice trailed off meaningfully at the end, implying things I could not have brought myself to say.

It was more than enough, as his completely frozen stance, looking like a deer frozen as it saw its doom approaching made him look all the more like an unfaithful jerk. The woman’s entire body language shifted instantly, her features twisted into a furious scowl that looked seriously scary if it had been directed at me. I could feel Max shrink away from her, which only pressed him against me more, adding to the effect. She slapped him across the face, hard. “You BASTARD!” She shouted at him, her voice quivering with fury. “I cannot believe you would do such a thing!” And she stormed off without another word, looking like an avenging angel hunting down some poor condemned criminal. It was rather impressive. I felt momentarily bad for involving her in this, but at the same time I had probably saved her from some heartbreak as I was pretty sure Max had no desire to be in anything but a very casual relationship.

I could no longer contain the giggles that had been trying to escape from my throat, and they burst forth uncontrollably as I released him. “What the hell, Evelynne... Why in the name of everything that is good in life did you do... that.” I looked at him, then, a single eyebrow raised in challenge. “Oh, that.”

I nodded at him in response, grinning. “Yes, that. You totally had it coming for that completely inappropriate, and can I say, gross comment from before.”

I could tell he was trying to stay angry at me, but the realization that he kind of could have deserved it took most of the fire out of him. “Still, that’s cold.” His gaze measured me with something akin to sincere respect. “Impressive, too. You’re quite the actress. Very convincing. I mean, I nearly thought you had lost your mind and desperately wanted me.”

I smiled, rather pleased with myself. “Well, if you refrain from saying such things about us, I’ll promise to never do that again. Besides, there’s several thousand females on this ship, I’m sure you won’t be lonely tonight. Though, to be honest, she was gorgeous.”

He scowled at me again. “Yeah, no kidding. Thanks a lot.” Then he simply shook his head. “Well, I suppose you’re right, I’ll just have to hunt through the ship’s bars later to find some charming company. You’re welcome to come along with me if you promise not to do that again.”

I grinned again. “Sure, that sounds good, although I will probably retire before it is too late, I’ve had a very long day. My muscles are agonizingly tired. Maybe this place has sonic showers, the vibrations would put me out like a light.”

He laughed. “Yeah, they probably do. I doubt this bucket has water showers, anyway, as it would be hard to come by enough of it for this many people.” He thought for a moment, about earlier. “Interestingly, though, she had just started telling me a bit about why she was here... And it is somewhat curious, as she really did not give any good reason for why she would be here. I mean, she is rich, I am quite sure. Why would a woman like that travel on a low-class ship like this? It’s quite a mystery...”

I laughed. “You’re just sad you did not get a chance to solve it yourself, Romeo. Though it is interesting, I must admit. Maybe she’s running away from home, stowing away on board of this ship to escape the clutches of her overbearing parents to find a life of her own?”

He grinned. “You have quite the imagination. Well, I doubt we’ll ever know now, I don’t think she’ll finish telling me about it any way. And she’s probably too horrifyingly embarrassed to approach you. I mean, I would be if our roles were reversed. You make a convincing doting partner, you know... And you throw a good right hook.” He glanced down at my hand, then. “Speaking of which, I have some ointments and cold packs for that in my suitcase. I know you’re trying to act tough, like it didn’t hurt, but I am not going to face the risk of being hunted down by a pissed off girlfriend for breaking your pretty little hand.”

I shook my head at that, laughing. “Always the charmer, you are. I suppose you’re right, though. It is hurting like a fucking bitch.” His eyebrows rose as I swore. “What, never heard a delicate woman like me swear before?”

He simply shook his head at me, in return. “You’re something else, Evelynne. Here, let’s get to our rooms and I will fix your hand up so it’s almost good as new. The rest of it will have to heal more slowly. But at least that way Alecto won’t notice when you video call her tonight. I’m serious, that woman loves you deeply enough to burn a path across the stars for you.” He grinned. “Not even kidding about that. So let’s keep you whole, and me, alive in one piece. I’d rather not lose any parts of my anatomy. Would miss them too much and all that...”

We were laughing as we walked the half-kilometer to our rooms, which were located in the same section of the freighter. He had a large suitcase of his own, I just had my medium size bag. Truly not much to show for five years of living somewhere, to be honest. Though, I thought living with Alecto would most likely change that, as she had already given me more things since I had known her than I remembered buying for myself, period.

When we reached his room he used his boarding pass to open the door to it, quickly setting down his suitcase so he could retrieve a small medical kit. He held my small hand in his much larger ones very carefully, scrutinizing the rather lurid bruises that were discoloring the fair skin around my knuckles. “Yep.” He murmured to himself. “That needs some work, or it’s going to hurt like hell for the next week. I’ve treated enough of these bruises over the years, so let’s take care of that real quick and you’ll be good as new. Just don’t punch anyone else today. Please. Most especially not me...”

He grinned again, then turned serious all of a sudden. “I know I am going to regret telling you this in the future, but seriously, next time you want to punch someone? Punch them somewhere vulnerable. Throat is good, genitals are better. Kidneys and solar plexus work, too. But punching arms or the stomach or the chest, or worst of all, the head, is dumb as they are very heavily armored on the human body. It just hurts your fist and barely does any damage. Remember that, and live it, because you never know if it’ll save your life one day.”

I smiled at him, touched by his concern. “Thanks, Max. You’re pretty awesome. Even if you’re an inconsiderate jerk.” We shared grins at that. “I’ll remember what you said, and promise not to use that expertise on you. Unless you say something bad again, anyway.” I glanced at his arm.

He saw it, and laughed. “You’re bloodthirsty by nature. I like you! Here, I’ll show you my arm if you want to see it that badly. It actually hurts quite a lot. Like I said, you throw a good punch. If you get it in just the right place? The other person is not getting up. Seriously.” He pulled up the sleeve of his shirt and there was a rather large bruise discoloring the significant muscle of his upper arm, shaped exactly like one of my fists.

I touched it hesitantly, blushing somewhat as I did so. He was right, I was strangely intrigued by these things, learning how to fight well. I don’t know if that was something I had always had within me, or if it was summoned by my newly awakened protective instincts concerning Alecto and her current and future well-being. I mean, I’d always liked self-defense, but I had never actually punched someone outside of practice. It was strangely exhilarating to explore this part of me.

“See?” He spoke, drawing me out of my musings. “If that had been someone’s throat they’d be lying there useless, gasping for breath. Like I said, good punches.” He considered me for a moment. “If you want, later, I can show you some practical moves? We’ll be stuck on this boat for the next 36 hours or so anyway, so might as well learn something useful in between steamy sessions of video sex with your girlfriend.”

I mock glared at him for a moment, then changed tactics instantly and grinned deviously at him instead, figuring it was a better response knowing him. “Oh, definitely. If I can still walk tomorrow, I will consider the lessons. We do get rather carried away. Alecto gets me so voracious when she starts having orgasms that we pretty much keep going until we run out of fluids, or pass out. Alecto is even worse with me...” My voice trailed off and I ran my tongue over my lips rather suggestively, winking at him.

His gaze turned inward, and I laughed at his expression. “Damnit, Evie. You can’t do that. It is so utterly unfair to say such things to me. I won’t be able to get that image out of my mind for the next day.”

I just giggled at him. “Again, that’s what you get for talking about us having sex. Maybe one day you’ll learn how to keep your mouth shut, or I will have to torture you like that for the rest of your natural life. And believe me, I have plenty of inspiration to draw upon.”

He laughed. “Yeah, I’m finding that discretion may be the better part of valor when it comes to that subject. I like you, Evelynne, you’re pretty damn awesome. I’m glad we got to know each other today, because I think we’ll be excellent friends before we know it. Now, stop distracting me...” I looked at him unbelieving. “Okay, stop being distracting to me, and let me fix your hand so you can go call your love and let her know you got here safely. Then maybe later we could get some drinks at the ship bar and see if we can’t have a good evening?”

I held out my hand once more to him, and he squirted some cold ointment on it that immediately caused the skin to tingle, tighten as the blood that had extra-vasated from the vessels was quickly re-absorbed. The worst of the bruise was fading quickly after that, though it still hurt. He put a second mixture on it, this one more of a paste. It numbed the pain dramatically and I gasped in relief. I hadn’t quite realized how intense the pain had been because it had so gradually appeared and become slowly worse as time passed. But having it gone made me feel a million times better instantly. I smiled thankfully at him, and he carefully wrapped my slender hand firmly in bandages that would keep the bruised bones from moving too much. He did the same on his own arm, without the bandages, and I watched again in awe as the bruises became nearly invisible within minutes. “Wow, what is that stuff?”

He just grinned at me. “If I tell you that, I’d then have to kill you.” I scowled in response to that. “Seriously, though, it’s a proprietary mixture. Maybe one day I’ll tell you, but I designed it myself. Works well, no?” I nodded that it did, indeed. “One day it’ll make me rich! Just you wait.”

I laughed at his enthusiasm. “You’re a good guy, Max. I’m glad you’re my friend. I did not have many before, at school, besides Alecto I mean. So it’s really nice to have met someone else who’s awesome to spend time with, and have fun with. Even if you’re an inconsiderate jerk, as we have already established.” We shared another laugh at that.

“Yep, that’s me.” He grinned. “Now, go tell Alecto that you’re fine. We can meet back here in, say, an hour?”

I nodded. “That sounds good! I’ll have you know I hold my liquor well. And I will totally drink you under the table.”

He just chuckled. “Well, I really doubt that unless you have a biosynthetic liver... But if anyone who’s your size can do it, it’ll be you, Evelynne. I probably outweigh you by a good 30 kilos. That’s a significant amount of mass to compensate for with superior metabolism and training.”

I grinned back at him. “Yeah, tell yourself that enough and you may believe it yourself. You’ll be begging for mercy before the night is over. Though I will say, I am not ending up completely inebriated. I am still recovering from severe dehydration.” The last I added with a smirk.

He shook his head. “Okay, out! I will see you in an hour. And no more innuendo about stimulating acts of sex, please. I’ve had about all I can take for a single day, I think.”

I pouted at him as I got up. “You’re no fun, Max.” I waved at him as I slipped out the door, hearing his chuckle as it closed behind me.

My room was just down the hall from his, and I collapsed bonelessly on the small bed as I entered and my legs gave out right then. I rolled over on my back, reaching down towards my bag to retrieve the holopad. I somehow wrestled it out of the cover and positioned it in front of me on the bed. I also grabbed a bottle of water that I had stashed with my belongings just in case, as I really hadn’t been kidding before. I really was quite dehydrated. The coffee hadn’t helped, either, as delicious as it was. An uncomfortable need made itself known once more and I grumbled, rolling off the bed and unsteadily making my way to the bathroom.

I emerged a few minutes later and laid down once more, opening up the connection to Alecto’s holopad. The time read 8:45 pm now, and I imagined she was probably reading something. Possibly right where we had made love earlier today. The thought alone made my face, and other parts of my anatomy, heat up deliciously, though I was much too tired to do anything about it now.

Her face appeared almost instantaneously, a loving smile lighting up her features beautifully. I waved happily at her. “Hello, my love! I’m on the transport now, and exhausted.”

Alecto grinned at me. “You look it. You seem like you’re about to pass out if someone as much as blows on you hard enough. Or rubs your feet or scalp a little...” She added knowingly.

I smiled. “That would be divine, but is somewhat out of the question for now. I was thinking of taking a sonic shower and letting the vibrations turn my muscles to putty. I’m betting I’ll sleep amazingly. Though obviously not as well as earlier.... That... that was beyond wonderful. I have never slept so deeply, or felt so good, so warm and loved and cared for as I did when I woke up in your bed, with you in my arms. I love you so much, my dear. I’m so happy we’re paired and bound together now. It makes me deliriously happy.”

She nodded, her eyes slightly damp. “Oh, I agree. You’re the best body pillow a girl could wish for, too. I have not had such a comfortable rest, or such amazingly good snuggles and hugs, ever. And thank you so much for being so understanding, so patient with me before. It really meant so very much to me that you knew to simply hold me tight when I was so distraught... And before that, when you knew just how to touch my for the first time...”

I nodded solemnly. “It was my only desire to see your needs taken care of, my love. I promise you I’ll always watch out for that, keep your mind, body and heart safe within my palms.”

She nodded in appreciation. “I will do the same, I swear that to you. Now... how was the trip up there? Had anything interesting happen?”

I laughed. “Well... you could say that again. I made a wonderful friend on the shuttle up here, and we’ve actually become fast friends already. His name is Max, short for Maximillius of all things, and he things he is God’s gift to women everywhere. It is rather amusing once you get used to it, as he is so over the top with his comments that it is not at all something threatening. Hard to explain, but he’s a real character... I think you’d like him a lot, too. We’ve been laughing a whole lot on the way here, and I’ve had to shoot down his ‘advances’ so many times already. He insists I have utterly crushed his delicate ego. We’re having drinks later while he looks for a companion for the night, I imagine, and probably succeeds at it because he is very charming. I think after earlier he respects me too much to hit on me more than jokingly, so now it’s mostly just friendly teasing between us.”

Alecto laughed at my rapid fire descriptions of him. “You’re right, love, he sounds like a rather interesting fellow to know. And I’m glad you made a friend. That is always a wonderful thing, to have someone you can rely on, share good experiences with.” Her sharp eyes suddenly spotted my bandaged hand. “Evie! What did you do?!?”

I blushed sheepishly. “Oh, that. Well.... It’s a bit of a tale. Essentially, Max started talking to me trying to charm me into sleeping with him, and it took quite a few strong rejections before he got the picture. Then, after you called me, he suggested he’d be totally available for a threesome,” I shivered once more at the thought. “with him, and I punched his arm really hard to show him that wasn’t okay. It rather hurt, but it got the point across, and I think after that was when he really started looking at me differently. Oh, and then I exacted revenge on him with a little act of me own, while saving the heart of a mysterious stranger he was trying to charm. Mostly by acting as if I was with him. It was rather hilarious.”

I grinned at the memory of his totally shocked expression. “I don’t think he thought I had that in me... He felt bad about it after, and bandaged my hand up for me with some ointments to speed the healing process, because, as he said I don’t want a pissed off girlfriend hunting me down and removing essential parts of my anatomy.” I giggled. “Like I said, he’s a character. But means well, and his heart is in the right place. He actually showed remarkable concern for me after wards, which was surprising in a very good way. And he promised to teach me some better techniques for throwing good punches!” I smiled happily at that last bit.

Alecto just shook her head at my rather involved tale. “Evelynne, my love, you’re something else. I leave you for two hours and you have that much adventure?” She grinned broadly. “Next time I am definitely coming with you, I won’t miss that excitement again. Oh, to have seen the look on the guy’s face, I can just imagine that now. Do be careful, okay? And send me a quick message when you go to sleep? We can quickly say good night to each other, then.”

I nodded. “Of course, I will. I’m only going to the bar for a few hours, at the most. I am very tired from today. It seems like this day has gone on for ever. Seriously the longest day I have ever had. And the best, so far anyway, although I will try my hardest to make every day we have together from now on even more special... With your help, anyway.”

We shared a warm smile. I grinned, then, an idea crossing my mind, and placed my lips against the screen. Alecto did the same, and it was actually remarkably satisfying to see her face so close to mine. I could very nearly imagine kissing her for real, as the memories of how she felt and tasted were so fresh in my mind that I could conjure them easily.

After a few moments I backed away once more, grinning giddily at her. “That was rather fun...” She said, smiling. “Good idea, Evie. You’re so creative. Imaginative... I love every expression of that wonderful mind of yours, especially when it is applied to such exploits.”

I spent the other ten minutes telling her about other things that had happened so far on my trip, random impressions that had remained in my mind, really anything I could still recollect. She did think it was strange about the mystery woman, grinning knowingly at me when I described her beauty in some detail. I blushed fiercely, of course, but she told me not to worry about such things, as there was really nothing wrong with the simple admiration of beauty, in whatever form it took, whether a person or a work of art. I smiled happily at her in response, glad that she did not mind it when I told her about these things, as I felt that it really only strengthened our bond together to be able to share that, too, without worrying about jealousy entering the picture for something as simple, innocuous as that. She definitely agreed that it would be more fun next time to people-watch together, as I called it.

She, in turn, told me briefly about her trip back to her apartment, which had been rather uneventful. She blushed fiercely, a true rarity, as she mentioned rather shyly that she may currently have my underwear stashed close by, soaking her senses in the intensity of my scent whenever she felt particular longing. I smiled knowingly at that, as I would certainly do the same later. I did not want to take it out right now, though, as poor Max would probably detect the smell on me when I met him in a few minutes, and he would probably have a heart attack as a result. I giggled at that thought, and Alecto and I decided that perhaps it would be good for him to find some companionship for the night, to keep his mind off us for just a little while.

The last few minutes before I was to meet with my friend we spent whispering sweet words that held meaning only to us. Then it was time to go. “I love you, Alecto. I’ll speak to you in a few hours, my love.”

She nodded. “As I love you, Evelynne. Be safe, and have fun with your friend. You can tell me about your adventures, and misadventures, tomorrow.” She waved at me with a warm, affectionate smile on her lips, before the screen went dark. I spent another minute basking in the wonderful feelings that simply talking to her could evoke in me.

Finally it was time to get up, collect Max, drink him under the table, and get the poor guy some company. Because eww, I would have to resort to drastic measures involving completely unnecessary amounts of blood and sharp bladed instruments if I ever caught him privately enjoying thoughts of us. That really had to end, I decided with a grin. At least some day soon. It certainly did not hurt to take his mind off it a little, today, did it?

I barely made it off the bed without falling over from sheer exhaustion and giggled. This is going to be an interesting night. And I could not then have known how true those words would be in hind-sight.


	6. Recreation and Relaxation

I quickly looked through my bag to see what clothes I had, wanting to wear some clean ones for the rest of the evening. Seeing Alecto’s underwear made me smile once more and remember earlier today, though I managed to put that from my mind after only a few delicious moments of recollection.

I chose another pair of the same style pants I’d worn before, snug and form-fitting around the upper legs with a looser cut further down the legs. Especially right now I did not want anything inhibiting my movement, I was more than tired enough as it was. For a shirt I selected something a little more... alluring than I normally would. It was decided, then, and I stripped off my shirt to replace it with the new one I had picked out. The new shirt had a rather revealing neckline that emphasized my breasts just a tad. I could already see Alecto’s expression as I showed her that sight, later, and I grinned.

I slowly made my way back down the hall to Max’ room. My legs were a little wobbly, but I managed it without even stumbling once. I definitely would be spending a good amount of the evening sitting. Max can get drinks for us, I thought. Besides, he’s not going to say no to anything when I am dressed like this. I grinned rather evilly at the thought. I missed having a good friend to do these kinds of things with, whether it was just joking around, sharing some good times together, crushing a man’s spirit. I grinned again. Max was such an easy mark for that, and I loved the comfort with which we teased each other already as if we had been friends forever.

It was great. It really was... And I was looking forward to having a great evening to seal today as one of the most amazing days I could have imagined. The only thing that would have made it better was having Alecto here, of course, and falling asleep in her arms after. But still, I’d take this over what my life had been like yesterday. I mean, spending all day in a crowded auditorium and touching yourself in a hygiene chamber, or finding the woman you love, expressing that love for hours, snuggling for even longer, and making a good friend all in the same day... also, drinks and a night out? Yeah, I would pick today for sure.

A giggle erupted from my mouth again as I knocked on his door. So maybe I was enjoying this a bit too much... Except not. I’ve certainly earned this. And Max deserves all the teasing I can manage, he’s certainly made enough unwanted comments for a lifetime of that. Might as well abuse that as much as possible, right?

He opened the door just as recovered from my latest fit of mirth. He was about to say something and just stared blankly at me, instead. After a moment, he tried again, still failing to find words, his mouth opening rather uselessly. Finally, he did wrest something out. “Evelynne... Damn. What... Wow.” I simply smiled sweetly at him, blinking my eyes in a most likely rather unconvincing display of innocence. He didn’t buy it, either, and shook his head instead. It was rather amusing how he tried to look anywhere but at the creamy skin of my rather liberally exposed breasts.

I crossed my arms underneath just for added effect as I waited for him to actually acknowledge me, pushing them up even further, and very nearly causing them to spill out my shirt. You couldn’t quite see my bra or anything truly... indecent. But a rather prodigious amount of soft, round curves was visible right now. I had to admit, it looked damn good. And I worked hard enough staying in good shape, so I might as well display some of my not inconsiderable assets, right?

“Hey, Max!” I spoke, a little too cheerfully. “I figured I would change my outfit a little, you know... Clean clothes can make a world of difference after a long day of traveling.

He managed to keep his eyes straight on my face, and I had to give the guy points for significant self-control as I don’t know if I could have stopped staring at myself right now. “I’ll say it again. You’re just devious. This type of thing should be outlawed!” I just grinned at him in response. “I mean, wow. You really do look amazing, my friend. We’ll be beating interested parties off of you all night, probably. Quite possibly combinations of all sexes, ages and orientations.”

I giggled again. “Thanks, Max. I’m glad you approve.” I added a wink. “I’ve done enough damn exercises to keep my chest muscles in shape that I feel like I deserve to enjoy the fruits of all my hard work. It really does help quite nicely for keeping your breasts shapely.”

He shook his head. “It does. I’ve been trying to convince all my, shall we say, dates of that. Nobody will believe me, it’s such an outrage.” He grinned back at me.

“Yeah, I bet that is very convincing coming from the guy they’ll never see again.” I smirked at him. “It’s not like you would know whether they did or not.”

“Hey! I resent that. I’ve had longer relationships than one-night stands, I’ll have you know...” I looked at him rather dubiously. “Well, I did, once. Some nine years ago...”

“Yeah, exactly. I mean, I”m sure you’ll settle down some day, but then, who would be there to charm the pants off all these impressionable young ladies looking for their mysterious stranger to sweep them off their feet?”

He shook his head. “That just makes it seem... terrible, when you say it like that.”

I smiled at him, rather fondly. “I don’t really care, Max. I mean, you’re all consenting adults, and there’s nothing wrong with having these moments of physical intimacy, especially if you’re not deceiving them by promising them more beforehand... And for all you know, some of them really treasure that experience even if it only happened once.” I put a hand on his shoulder, giving him a friendly squeeze. “I never had fantasies like that, but I think it is quite common for people to want some night of incredible romance. You know, being swept off their feet, being wooed and charmed by some handsome stranger they may never see again. I guess it has quite the mysterious appeal to it. To some, anyway. All I’m saying is... I think you’re the kind of person who does make sure that whoever you’re with has a very good, memorable time... Right?”

He nodded with a rather proud smile on his face. “Yeah, I’ve definitely never had any complaints about that. And while I have never received thank-you notes, either, I think you have a point. From what I can tell myself, many women I charm, as you so eloquently and euphemistically put it, seem to have a wonderful time. I think they know, too, that it’s just a one-time thing, even when I sometimes act like it’s not. But I don’t think that really matters, it’s more about the whole experience that they will cherish after.” He smiled. “At least, that’s what I tell myself to be able to go to sleep at night.” He winked at me at that.

I laughed. “Yeah, you seem very disturbed by the moral implications of it.” I bounced rather excitedly all of a sudden, eager to get going now. Completely forgetting I was not wearing my regular, modest shirt right now. “Fuck. Sorry about that, I forgot.” I only barely saved myself from a really embarrassing situation as I managed to grab the bottom of my neckline just in time to avoid flashing my friend with somewhat more skin than I really wanted.

He laughed loudly at my awkward pose. “That... that was amazing. Yeah, I would be careful trying to jump around wearing that, or you will cause a scene in the bar. And yes, before you expose yourself for real, we can head to the bar and get some drinks.” I smacked him on the shoulder with my free hand before indicating with a finger that he needed to turn while I fixed my shirt.

He grinned and turned around. I quickly readjusted the neckline of my shirt. Especially considering my bra was more one you’d wear to emphasize the shape of your breasts and support their heft, rather than covering all of them securely for more vigorous activities... That would have been quite mortifying. “Okay, I’m good again...” I mumbled back at him.

He gave me a friendly hug, then. “Don’t worry, Evie. You look awesome, and we’re going to have a great couple hours relaxing. Besides, having a beautiful woman sitting next to you who is obviously not your date does wonders for your desirability. Seriously, you should watch that.” He grinned. “This is going to be a goldmine!

I smacked him in the stomach with the back of my hand, a soft grunt escaping from his mouth at the unexpected impact. “Yeah, Romeo, I get the picture. You’d look better because you seem more successful as you have really attractive friends. Basic economic theory. Though please don’t give me more detail than I need. I do not want to know exactly what you do with those women you sleep with. Especially if there’s more than one.”

He nodded sagely. “Yeah, I could tell you stories that would make your brain bleed. But I’ll take pity on you and respect your stated preferences, as a good friend should, and would. Now, let’s head over to the bar before it gets too late.”

I smiled at him, dryly. “Thanks for that. I really can do without them.”

We walked off towards the part of the ship that held all the recreational facilities. There was a gym, apparently, various restaurants and shops. And several bars. I let Max guide me around, as he seemed to know just where to go. Whether it was prior experience with this place, or some crazy instinct he had on where to find the most attractive and willing partners, I had no idea. But find them he, or rather we, did.

Apparently there was a whole system to it, what he did. And it really was rather amusing to me to see it up close like that. I would never admit it, either, but I may have picked up a few rather impressively sincere-sounding lines from him there that seemed to be guaranteed to make someone really want you. Note to self: try some of those on Alecto. I grinned.

He had picked a booth that was quite close to the center of the enormous lounge that the bar was located in, leaving me by myself while he went to grab us some drinks. I was feeling decidedly less optimistic than I had been before about drinking the guy under the table, a guy who did massively outweigh me, and yes, that did matter a lot... I knew that...

My exhaustion was palpable, and it was a testament to my willpower that I was even awake right now. Still, I was determined to enjoy myself a little. Maybe they had some alcoholic caffeinated beverages, here. I’d have to get Max to check for me, I thought with a grin.

Max returned just then with the drinks. “Here you go, beautiful.” He grinned cheekily at me. “I brought you something that should wake you right up. You looked like you were about to fall asleep over here on the table. We certainly can’t have that, as it would totally mess up my plan. I’m aiming for at least five contacts.” My eyebrows were nearly in my hairline in shock. He just laughed. “Not at once, silly. It’s good to know people, in case I ever get stuck on here with little prospects or time to look for them. It’s amazing how small the universe is. Why, there was this time on Matar...”

I was grinning rather broadly as he finished the tale involving several young maidens he had met on one of his trips, and how he had sadly become... separated from them due to terrible misfortune and some business deal gone south. Apparently he kept finding the missing women, one by one, on other trips of his, and had since become convinced that there was some higher power looking out for him. I giggled at that thought. Yeah, that will be the day. I’m sure there’s some Deity who makes sure that these missed connections happen in due time. It was a rather hilarious idea, actually. I’m sure Max would worship that one.

I took another drink of my coffee that was spiked with several types of alcohol, and the combination of stimulants that was in it was making me somewhat hyper. I had pretty much completely forgotten about my earlier exhaustion, although one minority part of my mind warned that I most likely would regret that, later. I was starting to get a rather pleasant buzz from the alcohol, though... I certainly don’t remember being quite that talkative under other circumstances.

Max just sat there smiling as we traded stories about different parts of our life. It felt really nice to have found a second person in one day who was this interested in what was going on in my life. I thought that perhaps I should have done this a long time ago, rather than always focusing solely on my studies. I think having Alecto, and now also Max, in my life will certainly, and quickly, remedy that. I giggled again at the thought, earning me an amused smile from my friend.

A few more minutes later he had sufficiently scouted out the bar to have a good sense for who he wanted to talk to. And I was rather impressed by his taste... He seemed to like almost exactly the same kind of girls that I most appreciated looking at. Not quite identical, obviously, but very similar.

We were busy constructing a ranking complete with a point based scoring system for various attributes, because as he said, you needed some objective measurement based upon which you decided. Right now, we were arguing about curvaceousness. I grinned, shaking my head at him. “Seriously, Max... It just makes a lot more sense to look at these things in combination. I think it is much more appropriate to look at it more, shall we say... holistically? Because it really makes a difference how some physical attribute, for example some deliciously curvy hips, fits with the rest of a person’s body. You can’t just look at it detached from everything else, it’s not the same!”

He chuckled. “Well, I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree on that. I can perfectly well look at these things in isolation, Evie.” His grin reappeared as he took a sip from his beverage of choice. “Maybe you should try it sometime.”

I just glared at him, though more affectionately than anything. “Yeah, I’ve done that before, doesn’t work for me. But suit yourself, it’s your prospective date, anyway. All I’m saying is that there is nothing more beautiful and perfect than just the right amount of curves to suit a woman’s body, so that it all blends together ever so smoothly into one amazingly attractive whole...” Very much like Alecto. She’s just absolute perfection in every way... I had to stop that train of thought right there or I would have drooled, quite literally.

Max grinned at my expression. “Careful there... You’re about to make a puddle on the table if you don’t stop salivating. And most likely the bench, too.”

I scowled at him. “Ha ha, very funny.” I did blush rather profusely. I hated being quite so obviously straightforward for other people to read. I shifted a little in my seat. “I can’t really help it, though... Still, I’ll try not to get too distracted unclothing her mentally and...” I let my voice trail off meaningfully. “I mean, no offense, but it’s not any kind of competition for my attention.”

He laughed again. “None taken. But okay, so that’s settled then. I am using my executive decision making power vested in me by, well, myself...” I giggled at his phrasing. “Oh, shut up. Anyway, that should be all. Lemme figure out real quick how I want to do this.”

He was rather deeply sunk in thought for a few minutes as he tried to arrange his list of people, currently still marked with remarkably original numbers, of all things... I took the time to look around the large room, to see what others may be doing in the mean time. Not much really stood out at me until I spotted her again. The mystery woman we had encountered earlier on the flight. She was sitting by herself in a rather remote, quiet corner of the lounge. As much as there was such a place in this noisy place. I glanced back at my friend, and he certainly hadn’t spotted her. I don’t think she had seen us, either. I considered going over to talk to her, apologize rather, because I really did feel quite bad for involving her in my little payback scheme I’d designed for Max, earlier. It had quite obviously upset her, and I hated upsetting people like that, especially accidentally. I had just been very much distracted at the time, and had not really considered the effect my act would have on her.

I nodded to myself, having made up my mind. I’ll go over there later when Max is otherwise occupied and offer my sincere apologies. I took another sip of my drink, frowning when it was nearly depleted altogether. And maybe there’s more to her being here than just travel. She might like a friendly ear; it’s the least I can offer her in recompense for earlier.

“Evie?” Max’ voice shook me from my thoughts. “You okay? You seemed distracted again.”

I nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine. I was thinking I needed another drink!” That was... sort of true. Quite a lie of omission, but I did not consider those nearly as bad as stating something that was obviously false.

He laughed. “Well, then, let’s remedy that. I’ll get you another one of those... And take the chance to talk to that cute girl over there at the same time.” He winked. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do while I’m gone.”

I giggled. “Okay, boss. I’ll try not to seduce any strangers in the... five minutes it’ll take you, max, to get back here... I think I will manage that.”

He grasped his chest again. “Oh, Evie, you wound me yet again. I’ll have to drown my broken heart in much alcohol, and company.” With another wink at me, he was gone.

I glanced over at the bar as he ordered the drinks, and quite smoothly, naturally, managed to involve the woman sitting there in conversation. I appraised the situation for a few moments, and I was pretty sure this was not going to be a short conversation. Perfect. That would give me enough time to go over there and hopefully make amends for earlier. Just like that, Max was suddenly there at the table, handing me my drink with a grin. “I must abandon you for just a few more minutes, my beauty...” I rolled my eyes at that. “I just didn’t want you dozing off while I was hard at work.” His eyes glanced back towards the woman who was looking our way, a rather curious expression on her face as she appraised us?

“Max, what did you tell her?” I raised an eyebrow expectantly. “It better not be anything... unwholesome.”

He grinned. “Perish the thought...” He considered his choice of words. “Actually, un-perish that, as I fear it is exactly like that. I may have intimated that, well, you were very willing to engage in some recreational activity with us, later?”

I just glared at him, making sure she couldn’t see. “You’re awful... Getting her hopes up like that. Truly cruel. But really, not going to happen.” I grinned, then. “Her, I would consider.” I added a wink for good effect.

His eyebrows rose to his hairline, now. “Could I watch?”

A growl escaped my throat that was scary enough that he actually did step back. “Get back there, and do your own work. I’ll not have you giving me a reputation on this ship. Or we’ll be back at the blood and the knives.” I raised a brow meaningfully over light blue eyes. “I’m sure we don’t want that, do we?”

He shook his head, though a faint smile was still on his lips. “Nope, we don’t. Also, remind me never to truly piss you off. That would be a scary sight. Now, I guess I can rely on my own charms to seal this... deal.”

I just shook my head. “GO!” I urged. He gave one last grin, and walked back over to the bar. I really need to invest in some knives. Maybe carrying one around on my person would deter his more... unnecessary and unwanted innuendo. I mean, please... I have standards. I chuckled a little. It was rather enjoyable, the constant teasing. I had to give him that. Just, yuck. Mental images...

I got up, quietly, and made my way over to the other side of the bar. I did not want her to see me approach from afar and kept most of the milling crowd of socializing people in between until I had come quite close to her secluded booth. I was quite nervous, I found... These types of situations never having been one of my strong points. Still, the drink I had helped a little, and I really did feel terrible about it, the more I thought it through. I’d just have to deal with the discomfort, and make this right.

She spotted me when I was mere steps away from her, nursing a cup of coffee? It did not look like the kind I’d had, either. Just regular coffee, although from the faint smell of it I could discern a rather good kind. Fruity, with earthy undertones. I bet that tastes delicious... Her eyes reflected her shock at seeing me again, mixed with pain, embarrassment and still some fury. Her voice was soft, laced with regret, words spilling from her mouth at a rapid, almost nervous pace. “Look, I’m really sore about before... I had no idea he was with you. I would never have been interested otherwise...” Adding softly. “I don’t want any trouble.” Those lasts words especially made the tiny hairs at the back of my neck stand up in faint alarm. There was definitely something going on here.

I cut her apology off right there, shaking my head. “Please, don’t apologize. It is I who should be doing so, as I treated you most unjustly.” She frowned, confused now. I took a sip of my coffee, trying to best phrase what I wanted to say. Finally deciding simple honesty would work best, I ventured forth once more into my explanation. “We’re not really together... he and I. We are just good friends... and he made some distasteful comments earlier on the flight, and I was trying to get back at him in response to that... As I felt he deserved that.”

Her expression was unreadable now, which made me more nervous than I already had been. “Look, I’m really sorry that you got caught up in that, and I feel terrible for toying with your feelings like that, just for a stupid joke. It was wrong of me to do so, and when I saw you here a few minutes ago I just wanted to tell you that. Because it was the right thing to do.” Almost as an afterthought, I mumbled. “And he was just looking for some company for the night... I felt like I probably would be doing you a favor, though that is no excuse in hindsight for what I did. I should have let you make that choice myself.”

She just looked at me, her facial features carefully composed now similar to how Alecto could conceal whatever she was thinking and feeling. At least, in her case, from anyone but me. Finally, she just sighed. “I probably should be angry at you, and I guess I am... Under normal circumstances I would be furious, but right now I find I don’t have the energy for it...”

I sighed with not inconsiderable relief. “That is much more than I dared expect, or really deserve if you ask me.” I thought for a moment, taking another sip of my drink. “Are you sure there’s nothing I can do to make this up to you? I truly feel beyond terrible about it. And yeah, that’s the last time I’m doing that kind of thing just to make a practical joke at his expense.”

She studied my face for a moment, a tiny glimmer of amusement visible in her dark brown eyes now. “You’re very convincing when you want to be. I could feel the excitement in your voice when you spoke those words, implied what you did. And you sure know how to embrace a guy sensuously.” She thought for just a moment, then grinned for real. “Thinking about it in this context... the expression on his face was... priceless.”

I grinned a little in response, glad she was taking this better than I thought she would. “I’m sad to say I couldn’t see his expression. He did freeze most effectively, though.” I shook my head. “As for the tone and expression, it wasn’t so hard. All I had to do was think about my partner.” I blushed rather furiously. “She quite inspires that in me.”

She had a small smile on her lips. “She must be a remarkable person, then. As the love and attraction was absolutely unmistakable... I guess I owe you a small measure of thanks, too, because I was quite enamored with that guy. He really is quite charming... And I don’t really want, much less need, any very short-term flings at the moment. I’ve enough going on... I think I just wanted to forget about things for a little while, and I was rather overwhelmed with that much positive attention all at once.”

I nodded in understanding. “Max really can be quite charming when he tries, and doesn’t put his foot in his mouth by making unwanted references and implications about sex.” I grinned in recollection. “He’s back there somewhere, trying to convince some awestruck woman to keep him company for the night.” Rolling my eyes as I added the last part.

She laughed at my expression. “Yeah, I’m glad I escaped that one, then.” Her smile turned teasing, then. “Besides, you’re much more pleasurable to look upon.” Her eyes, smouldering in intensity, raked down my body, pausing meaningfully at my exposed cleavage and she grinned. “I mean, really. You’re utterly gorgeous. She’s a lucky woman.” I turned absolutely bright red at her words. And words completely failed me, as I had no idea what to say to that, it was so unexpected. Flattering, but completely unexpected.

She laughed merrily at my embarrassment. “Oh, that was priceless. I’m sorry about that... I just could not resist flustering you. Which is quite easy, but I’m sure you knew that already.” She managed to calm her mirth a little. “What I said was true, though. You’re a very attractive woman, especially when you’re as confident as you were back then in the landing bay. It was a sight, let me tell you. Although... this flustered part of you also has its charms.” She giggled a little, now. “Wow, that actually felt good to laugh that much. I’m sorry it was at your response, but let’s say we’re even now.” She held out an elegant, perfectly manicured hand. “I’m Amelie.”

I shook my head, trying very hard to control my blush from getting any worse. Finally, I managed to regain enough composure to grasp her hand in my own. “Evelynne, though you may call me Evie if you want.”

She nodded. “Evie it is, then. It’s a pleasure to meet you, even after a bit of a rocky start.”

I shook my head. “Likewise. Today’s just been rather insane. It’s like all the excitement that I missed for years has all decided to crash my life today, all at once. I mean, really...” I proceeded to tell her about some of the things that had happened just today. By the end of it, her mouth was hanging open.

“Wow, that’s a busy day if I ever heard of one. And congratulations on finding your partner, Evie. That’s wonderful, and I meant what I said earlier. She’s remarkably lucky to have you.” She winked at me. “You’re quite the catch, I think. I mean, damn...” Her eyes flicked to my breasts again, teasingly.

It, of course, produced another set of pink cheeks. “You have to stop doing that...” I murmured, as if in physical pain from the blushes.

She giggled. “Sorry, I will soon. I can’t help it, though, it’s just too amusing to take advantage of your gifted ability to blush like that. It’d be a waste to, well, waste it.”

I glared at her for that lame joke. “Wow, that was pretty terrible... My little sister could come up with better jokes than that when she was seven. Besides...” Two can play this game. I very, very slowly lowered my eyes from her beautiful features to her, possibly more so, perfect figure. They moved down the abundant curves of her body at a nearly glacial pace and I made sure to linger for almost a minute just on the rather immensely appealing visual appearance of her large breasts straining against the custom-tailored shirt that so enhanced their already considerable allure. Finally, I looked back at her face with a wide grin, and was pleased to see that Amelie was now blushing as fiercely as I had been before. “How do you like being on the receiving end of that? Hmm?”

She was speechless for many moments, finally saying. “Okay, I totally deserved that.” She held out her hand as a peace offering. “Maybe we should call a truce on that.” I shook it eagerly, and we both laughed. “I must say, though... You definitely have a healthy appreciation for feminine charms.” I smiled, there really was no sense in denying that. “You certainly can’t fake that kind of interest. As if you’re looking at the most beautifully sculpted work of art that the universe has ever known, and you have the unique key to unlocking its meaning.”

I grinned. “Yeah, that sounds like what Alecto says. And you’re right, I do love to look. Other people are my favorite types of art, by far.” The question was clear on her face. “Well... you know how human beings like art for various reasons, as inspiration or affirmation of what they believe in, or just simple enjoyment of something beautiful for its own sake? I really think that you can apply that same concept to people, too. There’s a lot of similarities when you think about it, at least ones I can see rather easily myself. Because most people also have a theme like any work of art has, some overriding element within them that stands out the most. Whether it’s honor, or love, or ambition, or hate that defines them most on an elemental level. And like with a painting, you can look at all the little parts of the whole of them, their person, their mind and character, their body, and to the extent that it all fits together into one harmonious whole, I think that is beauty. And when someone is all fractured, has enormous conflict within them that pulls them in different reactions, or otherwise has incompatible elements that clash constantly, I think that detracts from their overall... sum? And we respond to that, at least I know I do, personally...”

I paused once more, taking another sip of my coffee to wet my dry mouth. “And beauty to me is definitely more than just the physical, as most of these things I mentioned that really define someone are more elements of their mind or character, but they tend to be reflected in their physical form because the two are not divisible, at least not truly. In that sense, many mental traits will add to the physical attractiveness of a person, and also vice versa. Because when someone makes sure, for example, that they take good care of their body, they eat well, stay in shape, don’t damage it unnecessarily, this tends to speak to very positive characteristics, too, like discipline and purpose and self-esteem. So yeah, it’s all tied together. Or I think it should be, when a person is truly at peace with themselves and is not constantly fighting different elements within them...” I trailed off, a little embarrassed now as I had gotten quite carried away talking about that element of my personal philosophy, one that I hadn’t really shared quite so explicitly with anyone else.

Amelie just looked at me for a long time, calculating, processing something. Finally, she spoke with something like awe in her voice. “That was remarkable, Evie. And I think it rings true. Very much so. It’s a profoundly inspiring way to look at beauty, at other people. And I think it is so much more positive than how most of our kind look at it, all separated into little parts. They focus on just the physical traits without any attention to the mind behind it, or the other extreme where people completely disregard the physical world and think themselves better for only caring about the mind, as if the body is some unclean, unfortunate vessel that only happens to be attached to it...” She nodded. “Thank you so very much for sharing such a thing with me, something that intensely personal.” She held up a slim hand as if expecting an objection. “Because it is, it reveals so much about you to anyone who’d care to look... Even if you don’t think of it like that, I feel like you’ve just told me almost everything important I’d want to know about you to know that you’re a remarkable individual, someone I’d be proud to know, associate with, and call a good friend.”

My eyes got a little watery as she said that. Her words touched me deeply, though I imagine the drinks hadn’t helped as I was definitely somewhat less inhibited than normal. “Thank you, Amelie. For not thinking less of me, or ridiculing this. It really does mean a lot to me, yet many people act like it is not something important, as if it’s just empty words that mean nothing whatsoever. I’m glad you don’t, that you recognize it for what it really means, implies.”

She smiled warmly at me. “Well, since you told me that much about yourself, I’ll share some of my own person with you.” My brows drew up. “Not like that. Get your mind off the incredibly appealing shape of my breasts for a moment, please.” She smirked as I turned pink again. “Where was I? Oh yes, my story!” I giggled a little at her theatrics, offering her a sip of my coffee. She took it without hesitation, giving an approving sound to the bitter-sweet taste of the drink. Faint red prints were left on the side of the mug she’d drunk from, the color of fresh blood.

“Pay attention!” She commanded, a smile on her full lips. “Okay then...” Her voice actually turned serious now, though I could still detect in her chocolate brown eyes the remainder of the earlier warmth her smiles had shown me. “My apologies if this sounds overly dramatic, but essentially...” She stopped completely, frowned. Her voice was almost cold now, a marked contrast from before, though her tone still held enough gentle concern around the edges to make it clear she was not upset with me. “Are you sure you want to know? It may involve you in something you’re not ready for. Or you may feel like you cannot walk away from it after wards, and I don’t want to do that to you unless you have at least some prior warning before you hear about it.”

I thought about it for a few moments. From the sounds of it, what she was going to say must be quite dangerous. She was clearly not joking about any of it, not any more, and there had to be some reason for it. Do I really want to put myself in a risky situation for someone I barely know? It only took me a moment to answer that with a resounding Yes. In the end, my concern won out many times over. And whatever it was that haunted this woman, I doubted she had chosen it freely, nor did she deserve that. Especially not by herself, not when I really did like her a great deal. I could never abandon anyone I cared about, whether they were a friend, family or a partner. I’m sure Alecto would not be particularly pleased that I was putting myself in possible harm’s way, though I was fairly confident of my abilities to escape it... But she would understand, know that it was not an option for me to not do anything. I mean, to a large extent it was one of the things she loved most about me, my genuine concern for the well-being of those around me whose lives entangled with mine, and now hers.

I nodded, then, my voice filled with a quiet certainty that left no doubt I had thought this through sufficiently and would not change my mind, not now. “I want to know. If there is something that bothers you, anything I can do to help you, it is yours if you but ask.” I placed my hand on the back of hers in a comforting manner, trying to convey support through the physical act in addition to my words. “Tell me about it, and we will think of some possible solution, together. I’m sure there is something that can be done, even if it is not certain to work.”

A single tear rolled out of her brown eyes on each side, my words touching her. “Thank you, Evelynne. You don’t know how much that means to me. I’ll tell you what is bothering me, why I am here, now... And I’ll understand if you won’t want to help then. But thank you for at least listening...”

I broke her off, again. “Don’t worry about that, Amelie, you’re stuck with me now.” I smiled warmly at her, affectionately. “I’m not going to abandon a friend in need, not for anything. I can’t do that. Just tell me what is wrong, and don’t worry about anything on my end. I am fully capable of weighing the risks myself and taking care of my own interests in that respect, so just trust me on that. Please?”

She nodded, still sniffling a little, eyes shiny. “I will try. I am just not used to that much concern directed towards me, not without any ulterior motive anyway. It’s strange, but very much a wonderful thing that I will try to just accept, and not question. But please bear with me a little, as it’s not something I am familiar with and it may take me some time to fully get used to the idea... You’ll probably understand better once I am done.” I just held her hand in both of my own, rubbing the back of it softly with my fingers to give her a physical anchor of sorts to hold on to, some measure of calm to center her. She took a deep breath. “It’s hard to explain...”

I nodded in sympathy. “Just try, start at the beginning, chronologically might be easiest?”

She let out a breath. “In that case... This whole mess started a long time ago. You see, I was not... born, so much as, well... created. And I don’t mean in a figurative sense, by my parents...” She sighed again, eyes nervously seeking out mine. She leaned forward, then. Anyone watching us would have thought we were having a very intimate moment. Her voice was very soft, as if she was afraid of being overheard, here. “Maybe you could say I was made, in a laboratory... I’m not really human. At least, not completely. As far as I have been able to determine, this started out as a rather top-secret military research project, funded I don’t know how, designed by the Special Operations branch of the Federation Navy. It was outsourced to a small biotechnology company, though I think it was mostly just a legal mechanism so the government wasn’t directly involved if anything ever came out...”

She took another sip of my coffee, apparently wanting the relaxing effect of the alcohol in it. “ It started nearly thirty years back when, as far as I’ve learned anyway, they managed to splice together a fully synthetic, working copy of the human genome, built from the ground up to supposed ‘perfection’. Every gene was custom tailored to be as flawless as possible, every basepair of the sequence argued over at length. I’ve seen the reports, some of them, and it failed many, many times. I don’t know how many before me had flaws, did not work as expected, or were spontaneously aborted during development. It probably took nearly a decade to finally have their efforts succeed, and I was created. I know that since then, they have managed to repeat the process somewhat more successfully, though it still fails due to unknown reasons four out of every five tries.” Her eyes were clouded with the magnitude of the loss of life, and the potential of life. “It’s almost unimaginable how much was sacrificed for this.” She gestured to herself, voice laced with loathing. “To be made, finally. But I somehow made it through all the stages of development that had not quite worked right before me. Grew in a bath of liquid for months as I completed all the crucial steps to form a perfect human being. And I was born nineteen years ago.”

She actually chuckled, even through her gloom, at my shocked expression. “Yeah, the specifics of the process caused normal human maturation from infant to adulthood to be much more rapid, roughly three times as fast. Apparently most of those stages were not considered essential or important, and whoever was in charge of the project wanted as little time wasted as possible that a child would normally spend just being a child, playing, exploring their grasp of the world... I have looked like this for about half my life, as it only took about seven years for my body to fully mature instead of the usual twenty-odd years. But that’s not all, not nearly all. My human body was only a substrate, as they called it. A substrate to be molded, perfected beyond anything mere flesh was capable of. I cannot begin to tell you how many times I was cut into for study, for endless tests, how they replaced parts of me without asking, without any kind of consent given or even wanted... Almost everything about me is more than human, now. I have biosynthetic organ systems almost everywhere, designed for superior function and resilience, my head is full of implants, parts merged and melded with cybernetics to further improve my brain functions. Hell, my skin is mostly biosynthetic now. And most of these surgeries did not take the first time, they repeated them over and over until the technique of it was perfected, until it finally worked. I can’t begin to explain to you the enormous violation this was. To be used like an experiment, a toy, something much less than human, for so very long. Never having any control over what happened, what they did to me, how they shaped me mercilessly into whatever twisted designs they were trying to achieve...”

I reached over, then, no longer able to stand the agony so clearly visible on her face. Folding her in my arms, I felt her tense for a long moment before she lost all tension and went utterly boneless in my arms. I could feel her sob against my neck, and I was touched both by a profound sense of concern, of caring for this woman in my arms who had suffered through so much, and an intense fury directed at those responsible for this barbaric act. I did not know why they had done as they did to her, but there could be no excuse for such violations, such stripping away of a person’s volition, their consent and say in that most basic possession of any human being, their life. I suddenly noticed her scent, then. There was the more powerful, somewhat overly sweet smell of apples that I think was her perfume, but hidden beneath it, only faintly discernible even being this close to her, I could make out her own, too. It reminded me of the clean, crisp scent of freshly cut grass in the spring and it seemed to resonate within me somehow, feeling right and comforting all at once.

She had stopped crying, now, and simply clung to me as if I was the only hold she had left on life, without which she would instantly fall into a deep abyss never again to return. I did not speak, sensing she just wanted the physical contact right now, and that words of comfort would most likely not help at this moment, would only cheapen her hurt as there was really nothing one could say that covered the magnitude of what had happened to her. Possibly later words would help, and I would gladly talk to her about it, then, but not now, not here in this very public place. I rubbed her back soothingly with my hands and she lost yet more tension, slumping against me with a deep sigh.

Eventually, she managed to collect herself enough to continue her tale, though she did not loosen her hold on me. If my touch and comfort was what she wanted to finish telling me this, then have it she would, and I simply wrapped my arms around her in a warm embrace. She looked at me so gratefully then, with such fierce intensity of emotion I could not identify that it did take my breath away momentarily.

After another moment it faded slightly and Amelie started speaking once more. “Thank you, first of all, though words cannot convey the depth of my gratitude for the gift you have just given me. Perhaps with time I will think of some way to repay you for simply being there for me when I needed someone to listen, to comfort me.”

I smiled at her. “You’re welcome, Amelie... It is truly the least I could do, and I am glad I could offer you some small measure of comfort at a time like this. I cannot be any other way than that, it is so natural a thing for me to do. I just couldn’t stand you hurting so, and wanted to soothe it somehow. I hope it helped, even if only a little.”

She shook her head. “It’s not small, or insignificant at all, not to me. I truly mean it... That, what you just did, is one of the kindest things anyone has ever done for me, and I won’t forget it.” I nodded, accepting her reasoning as I knew she would not budge on the matter. I could sense when someone made up her mind. And she most definitely had. There was no use whatsoever trying to convince a headstrong woman, not then. I know that first-hand from dealing with Alecto.

“While these augmentations were happening my mind was being filled with all manner of information. First through ordinary methods, though it was more indoctrination than actual learning. Later, once the cybernetic implants had been grafted to me they simply uploaded whatever they wanted into my head, my mind. I cannot quite put words to the depth of the violation of that, as it is almost worse than the physical kind...” My jaw clenched at her words and I had to force down a remarkable surge of violence that filled my mind, directed towards whoever had done these things to her. I simply hugged her closer instead, seeing her smile rather tremulously at me as I did.

Amelie spoke once more in a voice so soft that I could only barely hear it even as close as she was to my ear. “That went on for many years... They were trying to essentially turn me into a living weapon, to fight against the Caldari as certain factions within the military were getting desperate. At least that is all I have managed to learn so far. They never thought it necessary to convince me what they were doing was justified, my thoughts on the matter were never listened to, wanted or even consulted most of the time...”

“How did you end up here? I assume they didn’t just turn you loose?”

I felt her nod, tiny ringlets of her black hair brushing lightly against my face. She chuckled, too, though it was a bitter, harsh sound, not one of amusement. “You could say that, yes. They... overestimated how much control they had over me. It probably was a combination of factors. They grew more complacent over time as I had never given any outward sign I protested what I did. There were also a series of neural inhibitors placed within my brain that made it theoretically impossible to want to escape, and presented an easy means to track me if I ever did. What they did not count on, though, was my desire and dedication to truly live... free of compulsion and coercion.” She shivered, recollecting something. “It took years for me to gather sufficient will and motivation to attempt to set in motion my escape, and many months of planning. Eventually, a combination of circumstances allowed me to try.”

I felt her swallow nervously, and when she spoke again her voice was almost toneless, dead. “There was a certain time each month that personnel levels were much lower at the facility I was housed at due to a large staff conference. With the implants they gave me it was rather simple to figure out how to hack into the mainframes and overload the power stations that supplied the base with power. I am not proud of what I did to get away from that place, and I’ll have nightmares about it for as long as I live. I found one of the scientists working on the project, made him remove the inhibitors. I killed him after wards, even though he had not personally done anything to me. At the time it seemed not to matter, he was the closest target for my fury that had been bottled up, contained for what seemed like an eternity to me. I released it all, and did unspeakable things... there was nothing left of him larger than the size of a finger, and nothing one could recognize as remotely human in origin...”

Her voice broke again, but she kept speaking, as if stopping now would mean she could never say these things again. “There was so much blood, everywhere, I was covered in it from head to toe... I downloaded what information he had given me before he died, took the memory cores from the databanks that I could carry with me, and ran. Everything that got between me and my destination in the shuttle bay died. I killed, murdered dozens of people that day... At the time I felt they deserved it, and more... I would have tortured them all to death if I had had the time right then to do so, but I didn’t so I simply dispatched them as efficiently as I could, as efficiently as they had taught me. I still think that what they did to me was horrendous, and that I deserved to be free. If killing my captors was the way to escape, that was justified... But justified or not, do you have any idea what the cost, the price is of killing so many people, whether they were involved with it directly or not, just to buy your own freedom?”

She was silent for a long time, all I could feel was the shudders of her silent sobs as they threatened to overwhelm, to engulf her. “I finally reached the hangar where they kept a small shuttle... By this time I was near death, having fought and killed so many security personnel, so many scientists. Even as skilled as I was, as they made me, I was hit every now and then, and the injuries had added up. My body heals very rapidly, but I was nearing the end of my ability to stay conscious and by extension, alive. I somehow managed to key in autopilot coordinates to the surface of Bourynes VI and rip out the emergency transponders from the shuttle to make it impossible to track the ship... before I passed out. When I woke up again, I do not know how many days or weeks later, I was still near death. My injuries had healed for the most part, but not having had any liquids for so long had brought me dangerously close to dying of dehydration. I can go without fluids for much longer than most people, but not forever. I had landed in a wooded area some fifty miles from the Epsilon spaceport on Bourynes VI... managed to find some small body of water I could drink from... I hid there for a while, but I had the feeling I was being looked for, hunted, how I do not know... But I have always had very finely tuned instincts for such things... A sixth sense almost for when trouble was about to strike. It came in useful during many of my earlier... missions, and more so when I escaped. And I had to leave once more as I could not remain in the same place for so long... Not when it was so close to my home. ”

She spat the last word with such venom, such undisguised hatred in her voice that it sent a shiver down my spine in dread for whomever this... fury was directed against. Amelie finally loosened her death grip on my body. Some part of me felt a strong sense of wrongness, as if protesting the fact she was not in my arms any longer. It rather surprised me, but she spoke once more before I could give it more thought, her voice a broken whisper. “That is how I ended up here... I changed my appearance some... as much as I could given cosmetic applications and other more superficial touches that were all I had to work with. And I thought hiding in plain sight on a ship such as this would be more effective than taking a fast transport anywhere, or using my own shuttle. They would be looking for that...” Her expression turned despondent. “But now you must hate me... How could you not? I’m a monster, only partly human, a machine made for one purpose, to kill and follow orders... And even since my flight, I have been unable to escape my purpose as I have killed so many...”

She sounded so absolutely miserable then that it very nearly broke my heart. There were certainly many questions in my mind, still, that I would want answers to. But I felt a rather profound certainty that I was not in any danger from her. Maybe from whoever was hunting her... by proxy, but I do not think she could have harmed me, wouldn’t have let herself. It was either the bravest or stupidest thing I had ever done, most likely both, but... I trusted her. It was just a matter of convincing her of that, now... She literally seemed millimeters away from being swallowed whole by some impossibly vast darkness, and I thought it quite possible, likely even, that a harsh rejection when she had made herself so vulnerable, probably against all instinct and reason, that it could be the last time she ever did. I could not have born having that on my mind, even though it was hardly my responsibility. But I could not help myself from embracing that role, that duty.

I summoned all the resolve I could find, most of it was my own but some could have been the drinks talking. “Hey... None of that, now.” I spoke, placing the tips of my fingers on her soft lips to silence her words. “You are not a monster... at least not in my eyes. It is not your fault that they made you the way you are... That you are all these things... so lethal, intelligent and imaginative... That you know a million ways to kill a person probably without breaking a sweat. That does not make you a monster, or less than human. Being human is not about what percentage of you is biological or not, or whether you have the capacity to do terrible things, but about all the higher things that we can aspire to as individuals and as a people. The genius within our minds, the marvelous productive creations that have improved lives so vastly, the tiniest gestures of love and caring that you can show to another... Those are the things that matter most, that make you a human being. The fact that you’ve not been shown these things, and haven’t been able to do any of them is not a reflection on you... It makes whoever did those things to you the monster, and they deserved to have their lives expunged from existence for barbaric acts they committed against you. It does not matter what their cause was, but that violation you described, bodily and mental, is one of the gravest crimes one could commit against another sentient being. Stripping away their consent, their volition... I do not have words for how terrible such acts are, how much they demand justice to be done to make the victim whole in some small measure, though you can never fully recompense them for what has happened... But hearing what they did to you, at the time no more than an innocent newborn child... It makes me want to go on a rampage across the stars to hunt all those responsible for that act of barbarism down... and put them down.”

I held her face in my hands, forcing her to look at my eyes so she could see I meant what I said. “I do not blame you for what has happened, or think less of you in any way. You will have to come to terms with what was done to you, what you did yourself later on... But I think you will over time do so, move past it... And think about all the good things you are capable of.” I smiled warmly at her, encouragingly. “I mean, you probably possess one of the best potentials of anyone ever born... You just have to grasp that potential and aim to fulfill it. I trust you can do so, too. I trust in you...” I blushed a little. “Even if that sounds crazy, I really do. When I look at you I can see the amazing, unrivalled potential that is within you, just bursting to be freed and harnessed by you. It was not your choice how you came to be, or what specific changes or additions they made to your nature... But that is done and cannot be undone... All you can do now is live with what you have, make the most of it. And if you can, you’ll be so successful and you’ll be able to proudly say that it is all because of your effort, because you turned your original destiny around so dramatically, changed it for the better. I really think that is possible for you, and I promise you that I will help you realize it... If you’ll have my assistance and support.”

“Th- thank you so much!” She let out in a sob, overcome with tears once more. “I truly feel like I do not deserve this... your comfort, understanding... you. I can’t believe that you would want to associate with me after everything I have done, what I am capable of doing.. That you’re not running away screaming in terror I do not know how to explain.” She smiled very, very faintly. “Maybe you have gone crazy. You’d have to be to trust me.”

I shook my head at her, a small smile on my own lips. “That is where you’re wrong.” I added, teasing her gently. “For all your incredibly enhanced intelligence, I think you’re wrong about that, that you’re starting from the wrong assumptions that are leading your reasoning astray. But we’ll just have to say, and I do not mind proving you wrong about this. Just give me the chance to, okay? I know it is a lot to ask, given what you’ve been through, to trust me now, to make yourself so vulnerable even after all that people have done to you before when you were helpless... But it is incredibly precious to me that you would, and I swear to you that I will honor that trust, safeguard it as a priceless artifact.” I used my thumb to wipe away the traces of her tears. “We’ll figure something out so you can escape their notice... and have time to think of exactly what you want to do. Does that sound good as a first step?”

She nodded. “Yeah, that is what I was hoping to do... And I hope you’re right, that I am wrong to be so negative. I don’t think I can give up on that, not any time soon... But maybe one day I will, and I so very much hope I can.” Amelie smiled, then, and it reminded me of one of the incandescently bright smiles Alecto gave me when she was truly pleased. “I think I’ll have a good example to remind me, in you.” Her elegant hands took hold of my own, long fingers wrapping themselves around my palm. “I think that will help. You really are a remarkable woman, Evelynne...” She grinned. “Even if you’re slightly drunk right now.”

I blushed rather furiously, though whether it was from her touch or her comment I could not quite determine. “Hush, it is mostly because I was already tired before I came here. I’ve had a very long day. Besides...”

As I started saying something lightheartedly Amelie’s entire expression changed, instantly, from a teasing grin to a look of pure terror laced with hatred as her eyes saw something behind me. It did not make sense to me as there was a wall behind me, unless she saw something reflected off the polished metal of the paneling? I barely formed a questioning look on my face when her hands shot out and she pulled me towards her with incredible strength given her size.

I saw a glimpse of apology, regret, in her eyes right before she kissed me, hard. It was not a warm, loving kiss, at all, but one fierce with desperation and raw passion. I froze completely, it was so unexpected that my mind was unable to comprehend what was happening, though I felt my body respond to it just the same. I had been attracted to her before, and the feel of her against me now, what she was doing with her lips and teeth and tongue, felt so incredible that it could do nothing but respond. Her kiss was so powerful, dominant, I could do nothing but yield to it, submit to it. And it instantly made me incredibly aroused. Though the largest part of me did not want it to, some part most definitely did, relished it.

She completed her motion by falling backwards on the bench, her unyielding arms pinning me on top of her, covering her from sight completely. Some soft sound I could not place distracted my brain just slightly, though I could not determine what it was. I heard it again, and with the greatest effort I summoned enough clarity in my head to recognize it for what it was, her voice. I had to concentrate very hard just to make out the words, so soft were they. “Evie... I am so sorry! They are here! I do not think they recognized me... and I hoped that I could escape notice by making us seem like any other couple here, that they wouldn’t look twice if it looked like this.”

My eyes started to glance up, to see, as she said they were here. She pinned my head down against her, preventing me from doing so. “NO, you can’t look. It will look suspicious! I can... make them out by other means, ever so faintly. Their presence disturbs the energy in the room, I do not know how to explain it but I can tell they’re not supposed to be here, not here for the same reason everyone else is. It feels off, and they’re close.” She whimpered into my mouth, terrified, clutching my against her even harder. My mind reeled. I did not know what to think, or say, or do... I felt like I should be angry with her as it was wrong to do what she did, kiss me and embrace me without my consent, against my will... But it was an act of desperation, not about power, or abuse, and I could tell she regretted it deeply. It was further complicated by the fact that I wasn’t even entirely sure I did not want her to kiss me. A not insignificant part of myself wanted it, almost needed it, and it felt right in some ways even if the urgency and the time of it were wrong. I did not know how to make sense of it, or how to combine this knowledge, these feelings and thoughts with those I felt towards my beloved Alecto. Those had not changed at all, were still just as brightly present, parts of her interwoven with my own identity in my mind just as they had been this afternoon. These new feelings did not seem to clash, not for now, and I did not know how to resolve it, whether to integrate them all together, choose or what? What I did know was that it did not matter, that I could go through with this if it meant keeping her safe. I had to, that was one thing all of me agreed on. If she needed it to be convincing, I could do so... and deal with the consequences of it later. Doing this halfway and getting her, or both of us, killed, was not an option I was willing to allow, or even entertain, not if I had any say in the matter.

I opened my eyes fully, catching her chocolate orbs that were so filled with anguish, torture... as if she was sure that this would irreparably destroy any chance she had of knowing me. I tried to project as much certainty, acceptance as I could summon from deep within, and saw her expression relax ever so slightly in response. I twisted my frame somewhat, then, and she let me push her against the cushions of the booth so we were laying nearly sideways. I pushed her body down ever so slightly, breaking the seal she had on my lips, burying her face in between my breasts instead. I put my lips to her ear, whispering an apology as I wrapped both arms around her head as if I was desperately to hold her in place, have her continue the pleasurable act she was doing. She was not doing anything, of course, but our new position almost completely sheltered her from view. My own face and arms were covering most of her dark hair that would otherwise very much be an identifying feature.

I did kiss her hair, then, with a soft, fluttery touch of my lips meant to project warm affection and caring. “It is fine, Amelie. Do not worry yourself, as I am not upset about what you did... For a brief moment I was, as it completely caught me off guard, but then the urgency of your distress, your terror hit me and I did not care any longer. I meant what I said earlier, if there is anything I can do to keep you from harm, I will, because you matter to me. You do not have to worry that you forced me, or took anything from an unwilling participant, as you cannot force something that is wanted, nor take something freely offered. Maybe after the fact in this case, and...” I smiled against her hair just the tiniest bit. “Next time I’d appreciate it if you asked, but it really is okay. I’m just glad I can help you like this, or any other capacity.” I paused for just a moment, before asking. “Are they still around?”

She was making rather convincing wet sucking noises from where she was buried in my cleavage. She wasn’t actually doing anything, but the sounds were very appealing and  
did produce a rather furious blush on my cheeks, and not altogether unpleasant but certainly not currently wanted thoughts in the more... adventurous parts of my mind. I could feel her nod, her eyelashes tickling the sensitive exposed skin of my chest. “They are, but further away now. They were very close when you... did that, and apparently thought better off looking too closely at us after wards.”

“Good. Let me know when they’re completely gone, and then we probably should get the hell out of this bar. Do you have anything in your room you need to get? If they know you’re here, it is possible that they may find it?”

She was silent for a moment. “Yes, some of the files are in a small bag I carried on me. They have part of my history on it, so I want to keep them. We probably need to hurry, in case they know where it is. I do not want to lose what little I do know about myself. At least, what is not already safely in my memory banks.” Right, in her head... I mentally added.

I whispered again. “Okay, once they’re gone we can make our way over there, then. And then I suggest we head to my room. They should not know to look for you there, and unless they are searching the entire ship room by room, I doubt they’d find you.” I suddenly realized something else. “Although... shit. Do you suppose they will have the customs officials look for you? They will search the entire ship when we hit the edge of the Nexus constellation. Did you have any plans for that, before? How to avoid being seen there, I mean?”

I felt her nod again, and release an enormous amount of tension at the same time. “They just left the room. Let’s wait another few moments just to be sure, and we should go. As for your concern... I was planning to hide in one of the vent systems of the ship. Their SOPs don’t include searching all of those, only a few of the main systems, as there are sensors that cover the system. However, the sensors can be... tricked if you know where to go. We need to find a mainframe and enough time for me to disable a sensor somewhere without anyone noticing, then we can hide inside that vent while the customs go about their way... Do you think your friend will be okay by himself?”

“Max? Yeah, I doubt he’s missing us too much, he seemed to be rather attached to that blond woman back at the bar.” I grinned a little, and I could hear Amelie chuckle softly in response. The warmth of her breath on my skin, and the smell of her that now much more clearly invaded my senses with her being so close for such an extended period of time were rather distracting, though pleasantly so. Definitely something I could get used to... What? Yeah, I’d definitely have to do some introspection about this, later. It wasn’t so much concerning, just... strange and unexpected, and would likely take me a while to sort through. But I could put that aside until after our lives were in imminent danger, I thought. Very gallant of myself, isn’t it? I thought, a smile on my lips once more.

Amelie squirmed a little, and I slowly raised myself up and way from her. She seemed unable to meet my eyes, and I gently placed the palm of my left hand against the side of her face, raising her face towards mine. She still wouldn’t quite meet my eyes. “Hey... look at me.” I whispered to her, gently. Her eyes flicked to mine, finally. “Don’t you dare beat yourself up over that, okay? I meant what I said... You did what you had to do to stay safe, and I’m just glad that I could help you. I’m glad you thought so quick on your feet and did that... Or we may not have been sitting here having this discussion.” I smiled at her as I said that. “It takes a lot of confidence and courage to make the decisions you need to make to stay alive, to protect those you care about in the split second you have to make them. And the fact that you’re willing to make the right decision to do that, even knowing and fearing the consequences... You really are a remarkable woman yourself, Amelie. It’s very impressive, and something I admire and... cherish deeply about you.” And it’s very attractive, I added in my mind.

She smiled, then, much more warmly, and it was as if the sun suddenly appeared from behind the clouds of an overcast sky. I just gaped in response, the sight absolutely mesmerizing to me in its intensity. If she noticed my expression she thankfully didn’t say anything about it. “Your words are too kind, Evelynne.” She shook her head as I started to object, silencing me. “I’m not saying that you are wrong, but...” She sighed. “It is so very hard to accept these things at face value after having been told the opposite, having believed the opposite about myself for so long. I will try to live up to how you see me... I find that the prospect does give me hope, more than I have had in a very long time. Before today I thought mainly about vengeance and other dark things. I still do, but now there is some small glimmer of something better visible, even if the specifics of it evade me still.” She grinned warmly, then. “I will just have to stick with you. I think you will be a good influence, a good example, for me. And perhaps I can repay you some, too, by keeping you safe from harm. You do seem to have a knack for getting into situations that are much too dangerous for comfort.”

I scowled at her, though it was true. “Well, it makes life less boring. Besides, it’s not that I go looking for trouble, I just manage to find it without meaning to. There is a big difference, you know.” I offered her my hand. “Here, let’s get out of this bar, and go find your belongings, then we can hide in my room until tomorrow... When we need to figure out how to hack a mainframe just to avoid getting picked up by customs officials.” I grinned. “Sounds like a good day to me!”

She took my hand with a rather shy smile. I made a rather extravagant bow, and kissed it theatrically. “After you, my lady.” That got me a full laugh, which was truly a pleasure to hear. Amelie really had a very good laugh, and I promised to myself that I’d make sure she had a chance to use it as frequently as possible. It would be a good side project to keep me occupied, that was for sure.

She just shook her head at me when her laughing had calmed down a little. “You’re something else, Evie... I’m glad I met you today, and that you came over here to apologize. I already have trouble thinking about how dreary my life was before it had you in it...” She pointed towards one of the five exits of the lounge. “We go that way. It is not the fastest route, but it is furthest from where they left the room, and it is also much quieter. The less traffic, the better I think...”

I nodded my acquiescence. And smiled again, eyes gleaming. I’ll watch your back.” I made a rather exaggerated study of looking at her perfectly formed behind. “See? I’m quite good at it, too.”

She slapped me on the arm for that, though she still had a grin on her lips. “Hush, you... And there’s no reason to act any more, they are long gone now.” Her eyes were the slightest bit... sad? as she said that.

I shook my head, all mirth gone from my expression and voice. “Amelie, look at me.” I waited for her eyes to meet mine. “I’m not doing this just for show...” I touched her face in affection. “I really do care for you, and I do not have to pretend about anything when it comes to you. It is all very real. Don’t worry about such things... I would never mislead you like that. It would be very much a wrong thing to do, and you deserve better than to be treated like that, to be toyed with. I swear to you that I would not, and will not do that.”

She looked at me for the longest time, her eyes gazing at mine, calculating, thinking. Eventually she nodded, and smiled once more. “I believe you. I do not know how it makes sense that it is like that, but you are definitely not lying, I can tell that much. I can read it in your eyes, your body’s language when I watch you carefully. And thank you for saying that, for making such a promise. It is worth its weight in gold, to me.” She looked at me again for several moments, adding. “As for that... I think we will both have to explore the concept, and its consequences, in due time. I do not know how that could be, but... stranger things have happened in all of existence...”

I nodded, smiling. “That’s good... It is my wish that one day you won’t have to think twice when I say something profound and half-way insane like that.” That earned me a giggle. “We’ll get there one day, together. I do not mind helping you grow like that, be able to trust once more, at least those special individuals who are worth giving that kind of sacred bond to.” I grinned. “Nobody cares about the others. Whoever is not worthy of that... fuck them.”

“My, you’re full of surprises.” She smirked. “Such anger! But okay, let’s head out. We better pay attention, though, as for all I know they really did see us, and just decided to... confront me elsewhere, with less... witnesses. Knowing their modus operandi, so to speak... I would not put it past them. So be ready for anything.”

I nodded, a rather strange sense of exhilaration filling me. We walked out of the bar and almost immediately the crowds thinned, significantly. Amelie walked around the ship like she owned it, as if she had lived her entire life here and it was the most natural thing for her in the world to be visiting someplace within it only she had the right to know about.We walked through hallways enormous and tiny, seemingly without rhyme or reason... But she always seemed to know exactly where to go. I thought perhaps she had learned the entire ship’s schematics and asked her so. She just grinned in response, apparently not deigning that worthy of an answer.

We were in a rather desolate section of the ship, now. For all the many thousands of passengers, the hundreds of crew members, it had been minutes since I had last seen another living soul. I had a fairly good sense of direction, and thought we were somewhere near the aft quarters of the freighter... Not where I expected anyone to have a room. That mystery was explained as we went down a stairway in an unobtrusive passageway. When we came out a few floors below I recognized where we were once more. It looked quite similar to the hallways in which my and Max’ rooms were located, just on the opposite side of the ship.

Amelie finally stopped in front of a door and studied the sensor strip that recognized the boarding passes, her face inches from the device. She gazed at it for some ten, fifteen seconds, and sighed in relief. She quickly pulled her pass through and I heard the telltale noise of the door unlocking, opening wide. She turned around, smiling. “Okay, it looks clear. I don’t think anyone has been...” She stopped in mid-sentence, mid-word and pulled me towards her by the arm before I could even form a thought.

As I fell forward against her I felt something whoosh by the back of my head, right where I had been standing only a fraction of a second before. We landed in the interior of the room, safe from whatever had tried to shoot me in the hallway. The door started closing automatically as these models did and Amelie dragged me further back into the room, putting as many walls between the opening and us as possible. She smiled apologetically at having to handle me so roughly, though she did not hesitate at all as I had alluded to before in our conversation. Acting to protect came before any other concerns to her, more important than being diplomatic or even concerned about whether what she had to do would have repercussions for her personally.

I smiled back at her affectionately, letting her know it was okay, that I was fine. I was rather shaken given what just happened, but it was overwhelmed by the gratitude at her quick response. She rolled over to a bag that was sitting in the corner of the room and quickly retrieved several items from it. A pair of hand blasters, of which she threw me one and a few small discs that I assumed had information on it about her as a project. Quite possibly, whoever was here wanted the information as badly as they wanted her, herself.

I gritted my jaw. I wasn’t going to let her get hurt without at least trying to do something to help, that was for damn sure. My dad had, besides the self-defense lessons with unarmed styles, also given me basic and intermediate projectile weapons training. I had not used it in years, had not needed to, but as soon as I caught the blaster his instructions, his words came back to me just like that. I made sure the blaster was set on its non-lethal firing mode, which mostly served to reduce the power of the shots from there’s nothing left of your head to you’ve been kicked by a rampaging bull. Still, I thought it was best, at least initially until we knew exactly what was going on, to not go in firing live rounds.

Amelie was sitting on the opposite side of the room right now, back pressed tightly against one of the heavy wall panels. Theoretically those would stop ammunition, though you never knew depending on the exact caliber of the weapons they were firing. I did not hear anything for minutes, though she seemed to be paying very careful attention to something that was beyond the door. She must have much better hearing, I mused. She cursed silently, then held up all five fingers of her free hand. Twice. I blanched at the thought of ten people out there against the two of us. I had no illusions about going up against some black ops commando in a fair fight, either, and the fight most assuredly would not be fair to me. Shit...

She flicked her eyes towards the bathroom, just behind where she was sitting, mouthing Air duct to me. I nodded, and tried to crawl across the floor as silently as possible. After an agonizing eternity where I expected to be hit the instant someone discerned my position I finally reached the cover of the wall Amelie was hiding behind. She leaned over instantly, her voice a whisper. “Go for the air duct in the bathroom... It is near the ceiling, should be sealed but you can open it. It’ll set off alarms in the main engineering consoles but we can get far, fast, crawling through those passages so we should be safe until we can drop out in a remote location they wouldn’t as quickly think to look... I’ll hold down the fort over here.”

I nodded that I understood. She grinned at me trying to lift my spirits a little, which it remarkably did, and before I could blink her hand holding the blaster shot out and fired a shot into the wall next to the door. The sound of short-circuiting electronics, a sharp cry of pain and a very colorful string of curse-words rang out from the hallway beyond. “Well, they’re not getting in hacking the sensor pad, now. Now, go! It’ll only buy a few minutes, at most!”

I turned around and found my way into the bathroom. A few personal effects of hers were near a small sink and it touched me to see something like that. As if it really showed me a path into her character to see what kind of cosmetics, or soap she used. I did recognize the apple-scented perfume she wore, which was starting to grow on me ever so slightly now. Still much too sweet for my tastes, but it was hard not to like it a little considering who it reminded me of. Okay, enough distractions, Evie...

I spotted the vent, then, and it looked tiny. I didn’t think there was any way I could fit through... but I thought she must have considered it and thought we could do it. She didn’t strike me as the type of person who would rely on obviously impossible escape routes. I studied the metal grating for a few moments, considering, then looked around the room to see what I had to work with. I could always shoot the thing with my blaster, but there was the danger of bouncing blaster ammo that I did not really want to deal with in an enclosed space, as a ricocheting slug from the hand blaster could easily tear me to shreds in here. No, that was only for last ditch efforts.

I climbed on one edge of the sink which looked sturdy enough to support my weight. These freighters weren’t comfortable, or pretty, but they sure knew how to do structural engineering right. There was no ominous creaking, or a sudden crash and I sighed in relief. Apparently it was able to support my 68 kilos of mass rather comfortably. I felt along the edges of the grate covering the duct, trying to get a feel for the sturdiness of it, whether I could pry it open with my hands and if not, what type of tool I’d need. I had to stand on the tips of my toes to do so, as it was nearly too far for me to reach even now... Whoever had designed these ceilings really needed to be yelled at, later. Bastards.

It seemed like the cover of the grate was a lighter, softer metal, and I sighed in relief. Out here in space, of course, with much lower to non-existent gravitational forces compared to most planets, a metal like aluminium had almost the same tensile strength as steel did at one g. It was a good way to make ships lighter, and the metals had other properties that could come in quite useful. In this case...

I quickly stripped open the blaster, being extremely careful not to touch any of the more volatile components and blow my hands off. I managed to expose the blaster’s little power cell that generated the energy for the shots it fired in a few more moments, and ever so gently detach the energy couplings that connected the power cell to the acceleration module on the blaster. The ends had tiny clips on them, and I attached those to one side of the grating that covered the duct. I grabbed a towel that I had spotted on the other side of the bathroom to use as a makeshift glove. Okay, then. Either this works, or I lose my face. I grinned. I will be suing my electrical engineering teacher at the University if this doesn’t work. I mean, I was reasonably sure that my design would work. It was good enough considering the circumstances. Had to be, anyway, as I couldn’t think of any other good way to do this.

I pressed the trigger on the blaster and instead of firing a slug at incredible speed, all the significant energy output flowed through the energy couplings into the soft, ductile metal of the grate. It started to heat almost instantly, and within a few more moments the metal was starting to glow. I stopped the flow of power and covering my hand in as much of the towel as I could, tugged on hot side of the grate with all the strength I could summon. The heat coming off it was incredible, and after only a few seconds had penetrated through the towel’s insulation, burning my fingers. It had started to move, though. The heated metal was much more malleable right now, and with another great pulling motion I managed to rip off one side of the cover. As soon as I did, I yanked my hand back, studying the damage. It hurt something incredible... The entire inside of my hand was an angry red, and I could see blisters in several places where the searing heat had penetrated the towel more quickly. I do not know how I managed to avoid releasing a piercing shriek of agony, because the pain was unlike anything I had ever felt. I quickly thrust my hand under the cold water. That almost hurt worse, the sharp contrast going from very hot to icy was almost too much to bear.

Amelie must have heard my gasp of pain, as I saw her glance around the corner into the bathroom. She was about to speak when we heard the unmistakable hiss of some laser-based cutting tool slicing into the door. She immediately fired two shots into the door itself. Her blaster was not set to stun, and the shots, full-powered as they were, melted through the thick metal of the door as if there was nothing holding them back but paper. The hiss momentarily stopped, before it picked up once more. It was now accompanied by enough blasts going through the door from the other side that it would have been suicide for Amelie to try and fire at them again. She’d most likely use an arm, even as fast as she was. Great gouges were torn into the furniture of the room, the bed quickly reduced to little more than scrap. One slug hit her bag and the force and energy of its impact seared all the contents together.

I had not nearly chilled my hand enough, but we had little to no time left. I glanced around quickly, and without really thinking about it grabbed a few of the personal items she had in her bathroom. I somehow got the feeling that she wouldn’t wait for it, but still would like to have them preserved. And I doubted we’d come back here. I stashed them quickly in a variety of places. Most in the pockets of my pants but the little perfume bottle, breakable as it was, I slipped between my breasts where it rested rather safely against the lower support of my bra. It is also rather well protected from shock, there, I thought with a grin. I climbed back on top of the counter containing the sink once more just as Amelie rushed into the bathroom.

“Did you get it open? I think we’re about to have a lot of company, and I’m not really in the mood for a party.” I smiled at her in response, pointing with my burned hand that was still bright red towards the torn open duct cover. She just gazed at me for a moment, her eyes filled with a mixture of disbelief and respect. “I see you don’t take no for an answer.”

I grinned. “The grate wasn’t cooperating, so I heated it until the metal became soft enough to tear. It was a rather desperate manoeuvre... but it worked. I’ll have to put something on my hands later, because the skin isn’t happy with me. But I think we can get through now.” I held out my hand and pulled her up next to me. “Can you open it the rest of the way? I figure your strength is significantly greater than my own?”

Amelie nodded. “Yeah. And nice job improvising on that blaster power cell.” She had a rather wide grin on her face when she saw the contraption. She just shook her head, silently, and grabbed the grate. I saw her muscles strain for a moment and she tore the entire thing off. Damn, she’s strong. I thought. I knew she was strong before, but that metal is cold now and she pulled it off like she was removing a bandage wrapping.

She turned around, lifting me off the ground with barely any effort and boosting me up high enough that I could pull myself into the vent. It was a fairly tight fit, but once my shoulders and head went through it was easy. I did not have enough space in here to turn around and offer her my hand, so I simply moved out of the way some. Moments later, I heard her pull herself up behind me. A soft touch of her hand against my leg gave me an idea of what direction to go in.

I started crawling, then, through the air ducts of the transport ship. It was a veritable maze, as nearly everywhere we went several new ducts sprang off from intersections to supply the various rooms in the ship with fresh air. Amelie seemed to know where to go, though... Every time I would stop she would nudge me in some new direction. There was no way I would have been able to get out of this place without getting hopelessly lost, probably falling out of the ducts in the middle of the hideout of whoever was trying to hunt her down. Yep, that’d be just my good fortune. I grinned.

She kept making me take right turns, that much I did know. A few minutes and five more turns in the ducts later we arrived at a terminal node that only had one opening. It looked like another grate covered the opening, though, and there was no way I could break through it with my bare hands. “We need your strength to get through here, I think.” I whispered, my eyes glancing towards the duct cover beyond me.

I felt her crawl further up, and pressed myself against one side of the space to give her as much room as possible. It was an extremely tight fit even so and she had to crawl right over my body in a rather intimate way. She smiled at me, somewhat embarrassed, and I gave her a reassuring smile in return, not wanting to make any sound just now in case we were in a very conspicuous part of the ship. She inched up a bit further and I felt the softness of her ample breasts press against my chin. It was such a wonderful sensation, the skin incredibly soft, smooth like velvet. As tired as I was, I could have fallen asleep in moments resting my head against a part of her that felt like the most luxurious, comfortable pillow in existence.

“I’m sorry for the discomfort, Evie.” She whispered as she used the combined leverage she had against the walls and my shoulders to pull herself up further. I felt the softness of her breasts brush past my cheek as I turned my head slightly, to make it easier for her to squeeze past. Still, it was such a wonderful sensation. It is a good thing that breasts are so compressible, as I do not think she would have been able to make it past me. I thought with a smile. Finally, she did squeeze past my head and managed to pull herself quickly past me the rest of the way. I had to glance away as my current position virtually guaranteed a glimpse of the pale, smooth skin of her inner thighs that was normally hidden by her clothing. Not that I particularly minded, her legs were absolutely perfect, beautiful... But I did not feel quite comfortable right now to see that much of her. Additionally, it was intensely distracting, and for all we knew we would be heading into another dangerous situation in moments.

Amelie raised herself slightly, bracing herself against my body and the walls of the duct with her feet for extra leverage. She started pulling on the grate that covered it, the only sound she made was a slight grunt as her muscles bundled with the effort. Within moments the metal bended and warped, then tore free. A tiny bead of perspiration rolled down her face when she glanced back at me with a smile. That barely broke a sweat on her? Damn... I was definitely impressed. Marvel of human ingenuity indeed.

She looked down into whatever room the duct attached to. Seemingly satisfied, she lowered herself down face-first and slipped into a somersault once her feet cleared the vent completely, managing to land upright in the two and a half meters of space she had to work with. I grimaced, there was no way I was that coordinated. I started to lower myself the same way, dreading the inevitable impact of my face against the ground that was by far the likeliest outcome, when my grip slipped and I fell out of the duct the rest of the way. The floor rapidly closed distance to me face, and I closed my eyes in reflex against the impending impact.

I never quite made it, as instead I landed in a pair of immensely strong, yet soft and gentle arms. I opened one eye carefully, and saw Amelie’s face smiling at me, the expression almost affectionately in its warmth. “Careful there, you could break something important.” She whispered, grinning. She let me down after a few more moments when I had mostly regained my bearings.

I smiled bashfully back at her. “Yeah, that was a bit careless...Thanks for being there to catch me.”

She nodded. “It’s no problem. I’d hate to see your lovely features marred by the impact of these steel plates that pass for a floor around here. It would be such a waste.” I blushed at that, of course. “Anyway, we should head over that way, I believe we’re back in your wing of the ship so hopefully you know how to get to your room from here?”

I thought that over for a minute. “I think so? I’ve only been here once before... I would definitely know my way back from the landing bay, though. Perhaps we could go to one of the access hallways that lead from there to this part of the ship? I’d get my bearings more easily then.”

“Okay, let’s do that. We’re on pretty much the opposite side of the ship from before, so it should be fairly safe.” I cringed internally at her words, as that sounded like someone’s famous last words. Oh well... I did trust Amelie to keep us safe, so what could possibly happen?

We left the small storage area we were in and passed through many more unmarked corridors that she seemed to know like the back of her hand. About ten minutes of navigating the maze of tunnels later, she turned her head around and whispered. “Okay, we’re almost there now. Two intersections ahead this connects to the main passageway that you should be familiar with. We just have to be careful now as there will be more traf-”

Her words were cut off in mid sentence as the butt of an assault rifle slammed into her face, making an ominous sounding CRACK as it impacted her cheekbones. The force of the hit flung her against the ground in a crumpled heap, unmoving. Before I really knew what had happened I had flung myself at whoever attacked her. “Amelie, NO!” I shouted, a sound of pure anger, concern ripping itself from the confines of my throat.

I instinctively felt that I had to get close, very close, to whoever the attacker was, as they were likely to be much bigger than me. And they were. Right around the corner of the next intersection one of the special ops people hunting her had been hiding, and had known exactly where she was from the sound of her voice. Fuck, this is bad. There’s no way I can beat him in hand to hand combat...

Still, having already committed, it was too late to back off. And I would definitely not let them take her from me without putting up whatever resistance I could. He must have not expected me to jump him like that, as I managed to get in a series of surprise hits to his throat. One hard enough to stagger him, as he gasped in pain, struggling to draw a breath. He all-too-quickly recovered enough to slam me against the wall, dazing me instantly.

“Who the fuck are you?” He growled, squeezing down at my throat hard with one of his enormous hands.

I struggled to breathe, let alone speak. “Wh-who are you?” Why would you just attack us like that?” I gasped out the words, not knowing what else to say.

He chuckled. “Says the one who tried to jump me. I should just put you down right here. Nobody would be the wiser... And being in the company of a wanted fugitive like that... Well, I think you’re in way over your head, little girl.”

I felt more anger rise within me, though I doubted it would make much difference. “You hit my friend, of course I would try to defend her! What kind of person do you think I am?”

He grinned, almost dementedly. “A dead one?” His eyes glanced down my body, drinking in my exposed flesh. It made me feel, really made me feel, like taking a bath for two days. Like I was a piece of meat he wanted to taste... to violate. His words confirmed that. “Such a shame I don’t have time... With the rest of the team being close. I’d love to enjoy you properly... At least you’d be good for something in your life, then... Before you die.” I heard the faintest sound, a growl almost, but I didn’t know what it was as his words and the unmistakable threat, promise of pain and suffering and death in it, shut down my mind, leaving only terror.

His other hand grabbed my face then, and just as he was about to apply a quick motion to my head that would easily have snapped my neck the way he was holding my throat with his other hand he stopped, a curious frown only starting to register on his face in horrified confusion. Two things happened simultaneously, and in my dazed state I was not quite able to make out which came first. A veritable sea of blood and bits of bone and brain and too many other bodily tissues I didn’t want to think about splattered all over my face, my dress, as something was shoved through the guy holding me with incredible force. The sound only hit me later, as I heard the unmistakable though muted discharge sound from a hand blaster.

The reason it was muted, of course, was because Amelie had rammed it into the base of his neck from behind, facing up and shot him from point blank range. The enormous energy release that could propel the slugs through solid walls under certain circumstances had absolutely pulverized, obliterated the inside of his skull and had ejected the liquefied contents all over me. I nearly lost the contents of my stomach to that realization. It was beyond disgusting, especially considering who I was... wearing, so to speak.

I actually did lose the contents of my stomach as his boneless body collapsed and I saw the state of her. The butt of the rifle had cracked her cheekbone almost completely in half, which I could clearly tell because it had also torn up enough of her face that it left the bone of her entire left cheek visible. There was just a flap of loose skin hanging down sadly where that part of her beautiful face had been. Seeing that, especially on her...

Before I knew it I had doubled over and was vomiting until I felt lightheaded. Almost instantly, though, I became aware of her gentle touch on my back, my neck, as if she was trying to soothe me, as if my discomfort was anything compared to what she must have been feeling. I mean, I couldn’t even believe she was conscious, or alive for that matter. That blow would have killed most people, easily... Her voice croaked out, sounding strangled, hoarse. “I’ll live, Evie. It hurts so much but it’s not even the worst I’ve had. It will heal up soon, we just have to attach it together.” She said, sounding concerned. My heart broke all over again when she said that, at what they must have done to her before. Monsters.

“We need to move, though. I’m sorry, but we do. You can be sick all you want from the grossness of having him soaked into your clothes, covering your body when we reach your room. We have to get out of here before more of them show up...” I nodded, and after a few moments of trying to take deep breaths I managed to quell the urge to throw up enough to feebly regain my feet. Her strong grip lifted me up, though I could feel her muscles flex almost rhythmically as she strained from the agony of her injury. I saw then that she had a host of more minor injuries, too. Her scalp was bleeding in several places, and I think she cracked several other bones in her body from the force of the impact. Already, though, the flow of blood had slowed to a trickle, even from the half of her face that was nearly completely uncovered.

It was hard to see it... Not that I thought it was disgusting, but because it reminded me of the agony she must be in. Nobody should have to suffer that. I just hoped we could get back soon so she would have time to heal. I would try whatever I could to make that so, though it likely wasn’t much. But I could give her comfort, and be her friend and help keep her safe while she rested. “Okay, I’m ready. Though I am not sure how we can pass through the halls... We look like we’ve just butchered an entiry crowd, there’s so much blood splattered all over us. I mean, it’s mostly on me, but you’re no sight, either.”

She grinned at that, and immediately cringed visibly. “Ow, shit. Please don’t make me laugh. I can’t even begin to describe how much that hurt. I would be crying if my pain dampeners were not working overtime right now. I mumbled an apology, feeling decidedly stupid for forgetting that. It was just hard not to think of lighter subjects around her, even now... It came as naturally as breathing did. “But it’s already quite late, now... There shouldn’t be many people out, and we can probably make it back without seeing anyone. I’ll warn you if I hear someone’s footsteps, and should be able to give us at least twenty seconds of warning or so.”

I nodded, and we set off after Amelie quickly searched the dead body for anything remarkable. She left the weapons, but took the tags he was wearing that identified him as Gallente Navy Special Ops, and a small datachip he had in his belt. How she knew where to look, I had no idea. Maybe she has special visual modes, or she just knows these types of people and knows where they tend to hide stuff... Curious, regardless.

We quickly reached the first main hallway that lead from the landing bay to the section of the ship that had my room in it. Amelie had been right, it was completely deserted. Shit, we must have spent hours in those vents... It certainly hadn’t seemed that long... Alecto must be getting quite concerned by now... And I decided I’d have to send her a message immediately upon getting Amelie settled in and resting, just to fill her in on what had happened. I guess this is the last time I’m ever leaving her sight by myself... But that’s perfectly fine with me. We could have used her quick mind today, I imagine.

I started leading us towards where I knew my room was. It only took minutes of actual walking, but we had to hide in alcoves and doorways a few times to let others pass, managing to give a convincing impression of an amorous couple. At least most of the blood and bits were on the front of me. And in my shirt. Trust me when I say that you do not want to ever feel brain squishing around under your breasts. It’s not nearly as appealing as it might seem. The third time we hid like that, I could tell that all of Amelie’s wounds except for the biggest gash had sealed by now. Her healing system must be remarkable, indeed, which gave me hope that she would be fine even with such a serious wound. And hopefully she hadn’t lost enough blood to need a transfusion, as I doubted we could just walk into the ship’s medical bay without them finding out about it.

We left the little doorway we had been pretending to heavily make out in and after two more turns I recognized the hallway my room was in. Finally... Only seconds later, we reached the door. Amelie stepped in front of me and seemed to pull out all the stops this time to scan for any kind of irregularity her enhanced senses could pick up on. After minutes of waiting, which made me feel quite uncomfortable given we were standing in the hallway, but not wanting to disturb her focus, especially not at a time like this. I mean, she had a right to be cautious, now.

Finally, she nodded, and I used my boarding pass to enter the room. There was a small medicine cabinet in the bathroom that had some supplies for smaller cuts, though nothing for major injuries at all. Amelie just shook her head almost imperceptibly. “Don’t worry, just hold it closed and I will focus my internal control units on regeneration of tissue. I’ll be out for a while once that sets in, as I think I’ll need to use the heavy duty protocol to fix this, and it takes all of your energy for quite some time. Probably an hour or two, at the least? And then I’ll need to sleep and eat to recuperate all the energy I have expended.”

I nodded. “Okay, just tell me where you want to do this.” She motioned towards the bed. “That works... Here, wait a second.” I ran into the bathroom and grabbed several thick towels, draping them over the covers of the bed to soak up any blood that was still in her garments. “There, that should do it...”

She sat down then, and I could tell almost immediately that a ridiculous amount of blood had saturated the fabric of her skirt because a reddish-brown stain started spreading on the light green color of the towel. Good thing I used multiple layers... Damn. I shook my head, looking at her for advice on what to do next. “Just take hold of the skin... I’m sorry to ask this, it must be very disconcerting to see me like this...” She shook her head, sadly. “Just press it tight against the bone and tissues that are exposed and it should attach fast enough that you can release it in about ten minutes. You’ll notice once some warmth and color returns to the skin.”

“Okay, that sounds clear enough. Ready?” She nodded, seating herself in a meditative pose I’d seen Alecto use occasionally. I tilted my head, slightly. “When you come out of the repair cycle I’ll give you some of my clothes to dress in. I imagine you won’t want to wear those when you sleep.” She nodded, gratefully. I took a few deep breaths to center myself, and saw her do the same. Our eyes met with slight smiles, hers of encouragement and acceptance, mine probably more apologetic than anything else. This would probably hurt her a lot, but I couldn’t avoid doing it just to not experience the discomfort of causing her pain, I knew that much.

“Ready.” Her voice trembled slightly. She winced visibly when I touched the tips of my fingers to the flap of her facial skin. I cringed internally, but managed not to show any outward sign as not to upset her more. I ever so gently lifted it up, the agony in her eyes clouding up almost being intense enough to be physically felt. After what seemed like an eternity it finally touched on the underlying tissue, and I ever so gently pressed down. I could see in her eyes that it hurt, unbearably much almost. The force with which she clamped down her teeth was tremendous by the way her jaw muscles, still visible from where skin wasn’t quite covering her face, flexed.

She simply deepened her breaths, somehow managing to contain the pain, embrace it. How she did, I have no idea, but it was an amazingly impressive sight. Amelie helped me with her own fingers, her eyes seeing something that told her exactly where to place pressure, where each section would have to be reattached. Eventually, the whole section of skin was once more resting against her face, though it was very pale, almost deathly so. There was a long gouge running through it, still, from over her mid-temple to underneath her eye where the hard edge of the rifle had simply ripped it altogether with the force of its impact. I simply held it in place for her as her breathing deepened more, then yet more, until there were only five breaths coming every minute. Something changed in her posture then, a mixture of relaxation and stiffening that I had never seen anyone make before. It was as if all muscular tension had left her at once, but it was replaced by a mechanical stiffness as her body locked into some regenerative state.

I simply watched her with pain in my eyes, hating that she had suffered so before in her life, had suffered so today. Not able to help myself, I reached out and touched the tips of my fingers to her pulse point, reveling in the softness of her skin and how it yielded ever so slightly under my light touch. It was so alive and I could feel the enormously slow beat of her heart through her carotid artery... Even now when she was using the most of her biosynthetics that I had yet seen her use, she was remarkably alive. And I realized I truly did not care, that in my eyes she was human where it mattered, and the other parts of her were just improvements on the core of her that remained the same, born of idealized perfection misguided though it had been in intent and utterly wrong though it had been in practice.

Over the next few minutes as her skin was slowly mending and reattaching itself to the underlying bone and muscle, as all those missing tissues that had been torn off or destroyed were rebuilt almost visible directly to my naked eye. But ever so slowly, starting along the line where her skin had held together originally color seeped back into her complexion It looked a little like the way water would slowly suffuse a piece of cloth it was dripping on. After a few minutes Amelie’s entire cheek looked vibrant once more and the pinkish/red flush was slowly making its way around her eye to her temple. You could definitely still tell it was different, though it was a rather subtle difference. It was mostly a matter of the color being subtly changed, for now I assumed, as it was more angrily red than the other side of her face while who knew what cellular, biosynthetic or nanorobotic processes were going on. There must have been a great deal of restructuring to do to properly reattach the nerves, the muscle fibers, everything that had been torn before.

I just knew I was glad she was the way she was, as almost anyone else would not have lived, would not have been able to save me. The agonizingly slow spread of color had now reached most of the edges of the cut and was just filling out the longest end that reached to her hairline. Around it the gouge was slowly mending as well, knitting together glacially under my watch. I mean, compared to normal healing it was light-speed, but it was a very gradual, controlled process. Every little bit of detached skin seemed to bind itself together a bit first, which then allowed the next millimeter to attach, and so on. It was like closing a zipper, except one made of skin without any of the little teeth remaining after. Quite, quite the marvel, I did have to give it that.

Another five minutes later it had completed, leaving only a faint red line around the skin that was very angrily red now everywhere it had been injured. But it felt warm to the touch, I confirmed it only now with the lightest of brushes, not having wanted to do so before while it was attaching and in my mind most vulnerable. I did rise, then, as Amelie was unmoving except for the occasional steady rise and fall of her chest as she breathed deeply. It was such a remarkably attractive, appealing sight. Both that, and her in general. That she’d trust herself to be completely helpless, vulnerable around me already... it touched me. Without thinking, I leaned forward and quickly brushed my lips against her injured cheek with affection. “Please get better... You’re very important to me already, and I don’t want to lose you.” I wasn’t sure if she could have heard me, processed it, in her current state, but I wanted to say it nonetheless. It was the truth, anyway, and I believed with all my being in stating it out loud. It was only just, and fair, and honest to do so.

I stepped back, then, seeing the absolute mess I had made of the towel I had been sitting on. I hope they have a good cleaning service... I have no idea if they’d have experience with how to get squished brains out of your towels... For some reason, the idea struck me as hilarious and I giggled. I went to the bathroom, then, stripping off clothes as I went. These rooms only had sonic vibration-based showers, but it’d have to do and was probably better at removing the current mess than water would be. Within moments I was naked, and seeing myself in the mirror even I nearly became nauseous at the sight. There was dried blood splattered all over me. Especially around my neck, face and chest it was virtually painted on in large blotches, dark brown in hue by now from the constant exposure to oxygen. There were tiny pieces of brain and other tissue stuck to my skin in places more numerous to count, and I had a series of lurid bruises on my throat and neck from where the commando had tried to choke me. There was no way I could hide those from anybody, especially not Alecto. Though in her case, I wouldn’t have regardless. I just didn’t like the idea of her being extremely concerned without being able to do anything about it. It was an altogether awful situation to be in, but now it was not to be avoided. The one thing I definitely would never do was be dishonest with her.

I activated the shower and immediately regretted it as the vibrations caused a rather intense feeling of agony to surge from my bruised throat. The numerous ruptured capillaries certainly did not appreciate the vibrations they were currently being bombarded with, and I immediately shut it off again. I’d have to take one later when my neck had healed a little... I certainly wanted one, but I wasn’t willing to risk damaging my injured self further just for some comfort. I sighed, and instead used one of the washcloths helpfully supplied by the transport ship’s, most likely robotic, staff to ever so gently clean the worst mess off myself. It took nearly twenty minutes of soft scrubbing motions to remove the bits of dried tissue from me, and the washcloth had turned a dark brown from the sheer amount of blood it had soaked up. I shivered rather profoundly at the thought of going to sleep like this, still covered in the remains of someone... But I didn’t know how to help the situation unless I had access to an actual hydro shower, or my throat healed sufficiently to allow me the use of one of the sonic showers that were easily available.

It’d have to do for now, anyway, and I walked back into the sleeping area of the small room to gather some clothes. I’d need to do some serious sterilizing cycles later. Let’s hope the Gallentean Military properly immunizes their commandos... shaking my head at the thought. I put on something comfortable enough to sleep in, selecting an older shirt that wouldn’t be spoiled too badly if it absorbed some more of the blood I hadn’t been able to remove from my form. I normally didn’t wear much of anything to bed, but I didn’t want to make it too awkward for Amelie when she came back to consciousness later.

Speaking of which, she was still sitting in her meditative pose, her elegant hands resting in her lap, palms facing up, her breaths still deep and even as before. The redness of her injured skin had receded somewhat, already, even in the half-hour I had been cleaning myself. I thought that was probably a good thing, though I was no expert on regenerative protocols for biosynthetic hybrids. I wasn’t quite sure what the proper term for it was, technically speaking... To me she was as human as I was, at least in the ways it matter most. An impossibly beautiful, smart, strong and determined human, but human nonetheless. I simply watched her for a while, wanting to drink in her presence, her existence, and wishing to make sure she really was okay, and getting better every minute. It was such a joyful notion, to know that she existed. That was one thing I was sure of, even if I hadn’t yet had time to sort through the exact thoughts and feelings, the abstractions and implications of them, that I felt coursing through me. And I did know they were not at odds with any other part of me, any other conclusions or feelings I had come to earlier today.

It was an entirely separate reaction, though springing from the very same root cause that inspired my response, my love to Alecto. I think in some ways it was the abstraction, the entirety of my life that responded to theirs, to their person, mind and body. It was just very unusual, very complex, and confusing to feel it directed towards more than one person at a time. I had never experienced that, though it by no means felt wrong to me. That ultimately satisfied me, at least for right then. I’d certainly revisit it later in my mind, but as long as there was no obvious conflict, no reason to suspect I was making an error or lapse in judgment, I was confident enough in myself to go with it.

I laid myself down on the bed, careful not to shake Amelie too much as I had no idea how delicate, how vulnerable to interruption her current regenerative processes were. I looked down and saw the rather profoundly ruined shirt I had been wearing earlier, and was momentarily saddened that I wouldn’t be able to show it to Alecto. I’ll have to take her shopping, so she can pick out something for me that she would like to see... I grew warm inside from the thought, envisioning the delighted expression on her features, what actions that would then inspire in her. I smiled at the thought, and the knowledge of how wonderful it was that she desired me so... in every way it was possible to want to experience someone. Whether it was my mind that she loved to explore in endless conversation, or my body that she had only just begun to...

I reached down, then, and grabbed my holopad. Positioning it slightly upright so she’d have an easier time seeing me, I navigated through the options quickly, decisively, and initiated a call. It took a minute, this time, before it connected and the very adorably sleepy features of the woman I loved popped up on the small screen of the device. “Hi...” I breathed out, a smile tugging at my lips, stretching them almost impossibly wide with the joy of seeing her face again after such a trying experience.

It was instantly greeted with its twin, except with slight differences deriving from her unique features. “Evie, love! I fell asleep at some point, you must have had a good night with Max, huh?” Her eyes noticed the bruises that were clearly visible below my chin, ones I imagined were turning a rather appealing shade of purple and yellowish-green. “What the hell happened?” Her voice came out, incredulously.

I shook my head, trying to reassure her quickly before she would get too upset from seeing me hurt. “I’m okay, Alecto... Truly, I am. It’s... a complicated story, I’ll need some time to explain it in detail. I just want to stress that I am not in any danger right now, and whoever did this won’t be doing anything again.”

Her eyes hardened at the implication of my words, replaced by a satisfied glint once the last of my words was processed. “They’re lucky... Nobody does that to you and gets away with it... They’re lucky I wasn’t there or I would have thrown them out of an airlock for their efforts. How the fuck dare they?”

I shook my head at her, smiling at her protectiveness. “It’s a long story, but he is dead. But I should start from the beginning, as it won’t make much sense otherwise.”

She nodded. “Well, as long as you’re safe now... I can wait to hear you explain that... It was supposed to be a relaxing evening, you know.” Her eyebrow rose in challenge of a response to that, which I wisely did not offer. “Exactly my point. Though I suppose you can’t help it if trouble seeks you out like a heat-seeking missile.” She grinned a little at that. “Oh, Evie, you’re something else. You truly are a special individual, you know.”

I smiled back at her, overcome with warmth at her words, the sentiments expressed in them. “Thank you, Alecto. That means a lot... I really didn’t set out to find any trouble today. It found me... in the form of her.” I shifted the holopad so she had a clear line of sight to Amelie’s resting form. “She was one of the passengers on the shuttle, the one Max tried to seduce?” Alecto nodded her recognition. “Well, Max and I were sitting in the bar, drinking, when he found some woman to chat up to. After making more inappropriate comments about threesomes, of course.” I rolled my eyes at her for that, and she laughed softly in response. “Anyway, I spotted Amelie, then.” My hand motioned to the frozen form of the woman next to me. “I felt quite bad about what I did earlier, because she was so upset by it... And I went over to apologize to her.”

She nodded in understanding, her eyes softening in sympathy. “We started talking after she accepted that I was sorry, and told me some of her story...” My voice came out a whisper, my heart nearly breaking all over again just thinking about what she told me. “You can’t imagine what they did to her...” I did start crying then, as the intensity of the night’s events and the constant sympathetic pangs I had experienced for Amelie’s troubles finally overwhelmed my resolve. Being around Alecto, too, made me lower many of the barriers I would otherwise maintain at a higher level, made it much easier to express these things.

She looked absolutely miserable herself, not being able to comfort me the way she really wanted to. “Evie, love... It’s okay. I’m so sorry I can’t hold you right now, I wish for that so very much...” Instead, she whispered words of love, warmth and affection to me for many minutes until I finally calmed down enough and my sobs turned more silent. My eyes were still wet as I slowly, with my voice breaking down several more times, told her some of what had happened to Amelie over the years. And I could see in her eyes that she was absolutely horrified at the knowledge, and shared in my misery at having knowledge of that without the ability to have stopped it.

Eventually, I finished telling her of Amelie’s past. “I’m sorry to hear that, my love... And I now see why you had no choice to help her... You could no more refuse that than to ruminate on grass as a cow would, it is just outside of your nature... And I find that I don’t think I could have not helped her, myself... I’m so sorry, though, that you had to go through that by yourself. And I’m immeasurably proud of you that you managed, that you did help her. It is a reflection of the best in you, in my mind, and almost sums up right there why I love you so. That decision is a crystallized essence of everything about you that I love, from your determination to your sense of justice, from your incredible generosity and sympathy towards those who deserve it to your drive to actually make things better in the wake of your path as you go wherever you set your mind to going. It is remarkable... It truly is.”

I nodded, my cheeks turning crimson from the praise. “Yes, and then we retrieved something from her room, which was when everything went to hell in a handbasket. We spent hours in the ducts after escaping from her room with our lives... and we eventually made our way back to my room where she could hopefully stay more safely. Well...” I paused, not really wanting to recall that incident but not knowing how to avoid it, either. “We were ambushed by one of the commandos who was hunting her, and he knocked her in the face hard enough that she went out cold. He started crushing the life out of me, was about to kill me, when out of nowhere, she was suddenly there and killed him without batting an eye. Half her face was torn up and she didn’t even wince! She saved my life right then and there, and I don’t know what would have happened to me otherwise... The things that guy said before he died... it filled me with terror, and she saved me from that. Even when she was so injured herself her only thought was to protect me, keep me safe. It touched me, very much so...”

Her eyes studied me for a very long time, filled with so much love and conviction that it took my breath away like it had done earlier today, and did every time I saw that look all anew. “You care for her, do you not? I can tell by the way you speak about her, and more than that, from how your eyes soften and seem to smile whenever you refer to her.” She shook her head as I started to speak. “It’s perfectly fine, my beloved Evelynne. She seems, truly, like a remarkable person to know. Any response that she may invoke in you, that the good and admirable in her does, can and should only be cherished, treasured, as something most precious. There is nothing wrong with that, and I think you should simply relish and delight in these feelings because they do spring from the same part of you that makes you love me. It is all connected, do you see?”

I nodded, hesitantly. “I... think so. It is such a strange concept, but that is what I was essentially thinking of myself earlier. I don’t know why or how it happened, though that is less relevant now that it has happened... but I cannot identify anything bad or problematic about it, quite the contrary in fact. When I think about her, when I think about how much she went through, how incredibly driven and courageous she must have been to make it all those years when all they did was pain and torture her constantly, treating her as less than human, as property... And the pure love of life she must have had to make all that pain worth it, and how she can still trust me now after all that, it’s amazing and somewhat miraculous, and I do not think something of that kind, something so positive, uplifting and good, could be bad. You know?”

Alecto nodded. “Exactly. That is how I see it.” She smiled warmly. “And she sounds remarkable, truly does. I hope that I will get to meet her in person soon, though perhaps you could introduce us tomorrow when she is more... aware? I take it she’s resting from her injuries?”

My eyes clouded over, darkened, just thinking about those. “Yes, she was hurt very badly. It was amazing she lived through that, and she’ll need some time to recover even with all the incredibly advanced technologies that are part of her now. She should awaken fairly soon actually, if her original timeline still holds... But she said she would be utterly drained, then, so I think we should, like you said, introduce you two tomorrow.” I yawned, then, myself, overcome with exhaustion now that the enormous flood of adrenaline from earlier was starting to completely fade. I had been running on maximum alertness for so long it left nearly no energy, now.

Alecto smiled once more at the sight. “Aww, you’re incredibly adorable when you are tired and sleepy like that... I will let you go soon, then. You need your rest... And take good care of her, okay? She’s obviously an amazing person, and I think that is something to cherish and protect. I can’t wait to meet her myself, as anyone who inspires feelings of that magnitude in you must be worth knowing.” She placed a kiss on the screen, and immediately I pressed my lips against hers. Even like that, it made me feel better, a little bit more energized, and much better loved. “I should get back to sleep myself... I have to get up for work in a few short hours... Can you contact me later tomorrow morning after I get off? I may be able to think of something to help you two, and I would definitely like to meet Amelie myself, and see for myself how wonderful she is.”

I nodded, a fond smile on my lips. “That sounds good. Good night, my love, and sleep well. I will speak with you in the morning... And tell you about the rest of the details when Amelie is also there to add in ones I cannot recall myself. Her memory is beyond perfect... It is almost frighteningly good.”

She smiled. “Okay. Good night, my Evie. I love you!”

I returned it in kind, and we both shared in the connection for it for a few moments. “I love you too, Alecto.” She grinned happily, and terminated the connection after another moment from her end.

I stretched, turning to look at Amelie’s face more fully. It had returned nearly completely to its former color by now, almost all of the angry redness gone from the previously torn skin. I sat there watching her for I do not know how long, the steady rise and fall of her breasts entrancing me in an alluring, but more peaceful and soft than anything else, way. When I thought of her, when I saw her like that, all I could really think of to describe the feelings that suffused me was a profound warmth that I only experienced towards Alecto, combined with an intense desire to keep it safe from harm, to protect the source of that wonderful sensation that filled me at all costs. It felt like for it to be taken from me would be a truly terrible loss, especially so soon after having found it for the first time. I certainly didn’t know the future, but I was more than content to see where it could lead us. Even if it took a very long time to fully explore the idea, the practical side of it, in all its remarkable consequences. It would definitely be worth the effort, I could sense and I knew that much even now. And furthermore, it filled me with such radiant joy to think of all the things that she had never been able to experience before, that I could now show her, present to her as wonderful gifts of life, and to experience her pleasure at being introduced to all the many things that ordinary people took for granted their whole life. It was such a remarkable thing, something so beautiful and precious... It nearly filled me with happiness to bursting just thinking about the potential, the possibilities of it.

I was lost in thought for a long time, gazing at her, not even noticing immediately when her eyes slowly opened showing her incredibly rich chocolate brown orbs. A rolling motioned moved through her frame then as if she was a cat stretching itself languidly after a nap, and in its wake was left a remarkable vibrancy that had been absent only moments before while she regenerated. I grinned happily at her, seeing her back in the realm of the living, seemingly in one piece as far as I could determine given the limited information I had. “Hey.” I said, simply.

She smiled slowly, as if it took a great deal of effort to stretch the muscles. This time, she did not wince, and I was hit with a remarkably intense flood of joy at that small gift. “Hi, Evie. Thank you for watching me, keeping me safe while I did that.” Her words came out much more thickly than normal, heavy with some enormous sense of exhaustion that I had never seen on a human being before, and probably never would. “I think I need to lay down. Can you help me?”

I nodded immediately, hopping off my spot on the bed and grasping her forearm to help her up. Her fingers clenched uncertainly around my arm, then tightened a little more firmly as she got the full use of her muscles back ever so slowly. She pulled herself up, swaying a little as she stood unsteadily on shaky feet. I embraced her immediately, tightly, overcome with happiness that she really was fine. She almost instantly went slack in my hold as she let herself sink into my hug, apparently wanting, needing it as much as I did right then. “I’m so very glad you’re alive...” I whispered in her ear.

She nodded, the little curls of her hair brushing against my cheeks as she did. “Me too... That was what spurred me into action, when I heard him say he would kill you, when he promised those unspeakable acts to you... I couldn’t just let that happen, and I don’t know how I managed to rise and do what I did, but I am enormously glad I could. You’re wonderful, Evelynne... Truly a light in the darkness that was and still is my life. And I can’t bear the thought of losing that so very soon after first seeing it.”

I smiled at her words. “I’m glad, it is not just myself who is that invested in this, then. I was literally terrified I had lost you so soon, before... Now, let’s get you out of those clothes so you can wear something a little more clean. I can’t imagine it’s comfortable, and I’d rather not have bits of perverted commando in my bed while I sleep.”

She grinned at that. “You say the sweetest things. I think that sounds good. I don’t know if I have the energy to remain awake for more than a few minutes at most. The healing took everything I had, it always does. Leaves me absolutely drained after wards.”

I nodded, smiling. I knew she would not be able to disrobe herself at all, so I did not even suggest it. I sensed that she did not like having to ask for assistance, so I simply offered it freely instead. It was a small gesture, and the least I could do right now to make her a little more comfortable. I helped her strip off her thoroughly ruined shirt that despite everything still placed an incredibly appealing emphasis on her form... And what a form she had as it was slowly revealed. I had a very hard time not gaping like an idiot, but somehow I managed. But damn... Her breasts were left in little more than a rather lacy, but quite sensual, black bra that covered less than half of the wonderfully soft surface. In size they were easily equal to my own, if not slightly larger, and somewhat more rounded in shape near the top. Probably the tougher skin, I imagine that helps support their weight much better. Her abdomen was sculpted, very flat with the slight ridges of her muscles easily visible under the silky skin that was sheathed around her form everywhere. Her arms were equally well-defined, and I knew how much strength lay hidden underneath the deceptively soft wrapping. The width of her hips was ever so slightly less than mine, her waist quite a bit thinner. She definitely had more of an hourglass figure than I did, which was very much appealing to my appreciative gaze.

I offered her one of my clean shirts, then, and she gladly put it on, covering up the wonderful bounties that lay underneath once more. Which was perfectly fine with me. As much as I enjoyed seeing her unclothed, there was something equally wonderful about her wearing one of my shirts. She looked absolutely and stunningly beautiful either way, even exhausted as she was and having nearly died hours before. It really did not make much of a difference to me, the specifics of how she was dressed, as the clothing merely served to further enhance her considerable beauty. Perfect human being, indeed. No matter what she thought of herself, and one day I’d get her to stop referring to herself as something inhuman... But to me she was perfection incarnate, and one of the best example of what humanity was capable of, what it could be that I had ever had the pleasure to witness.

I sat her back down on the towels to remove her shoes and socks. Her high-heeled footwear came off easily, the socks followed moments later, revealing an equally perfectly formed pair of feet. I gently but firmly pressed my thumbs against the bottom of one in a circular rubbing motion, and she literally moaned in pleasure. I imagined the heels placed a lot of strain on the muscles there, and I was certainly right that they were sore. It served to almost instantly relax her, too, and she nearly fell over backwards as her body lost what little tension remained. I repeated the motion with her other foot just for a minute, placing a tender kiss on the upper arch of each foot as I finished, nothing more than a simple gesture of affection, just because it felt right to do so, and I could. I could see her smile at that act, and I knew she appreciated the tenderness and kindness I always treated her with. It was, after all, only right to do so in my mind. But that, of course, wasn’t quite as obvious to her, that she deserved that kind of behavior as much as I thought she did.

I helped her pull off her skirt, then, revealing more of her incredibly soft legs that were so enormously powerful below the surface. Her undergarments were similarly lacy as her bra had been, and quite appealing though I did not feel comfortable studying them as of now. Still, even the accidental brush of my fingers against the silky feel of her thighs was enough to set my senses aflame. Reluctantly, I pushed that away, and simply focused on the aspects of it that marveled at the aesthetic beauty of her form. That came easily to me, and was much more comfortable to dwell upon at this time. “You’re such an amazing work of art...” I whispered in awe, without even thinking about it.

I blushed immediately, of course, but she merely smiled, almost shyly? “Ah, Evie, you say the nicest things to me. I’m glad you feel such wonder when looking at me. It makes me happy that I inspire that in you, from you. It makes me appreciate myself that much more, to know that at least some parts of me are capable of evoking that response in someone else, especially someone as wonderful as you.”

I blushed even more heavily at her praise. “I am simply acknowledging the beauty that is within you, clearly visible to anyone with eyes and a mind that is open and willing to see. One day you’ll see that within yourself, I promise.” I grinned. “Even if that takes me many years to accomplish, it would be worth it. Really, it would be.” She smiled even more shyly when i said that, which was a marvel in itself... That this amazing human being, the closest approximation of a living goddess I had ever seen, Alecto excluded as she was perfect to me in a different way, could be so vulnerable and shy was hard to comprehend, to understand. You’d think she would be utterly confident with all her many gifts and abilities and in many ways she was... Except she could not believe that anyone could see her as more than what she could do, what she had been made to do. And who, really, could blame her for thinking that? Only a great many experiences that showed the exact opposite could ever hope to remedy that. I only hoped that I was up for my part of that, and swore to myself that I’d make it so.

We were both dressed in shirts and undergarments, now, yet the familiarity of us being around each other like that was clearly palpable. I could not sense any type of awkwardness being this close to her, and I was normally very sensitive to that feeling as I hated it. But there was none of that, it felt as natural to sit here, like that, next to Amelie as it did when I was around Alecto. Truly remarkable, it really was.

I stretched myself fully, then, the weariness of the longest day I had probably ever experienced finally hitting me in full, causing a yawn to escape from me that immediately infected Amelie. I collected the towels off the bed and put them in a pile on the floor. I could worry about those much later. I opened the covers of the bed, slipping underneath in an instant. The cool softness of the sheets felt wonderful against my tired body. I kept them open for Amelie, waiting.

Her eyes met mine and I could tell she hesitated, wanting to ask me something. “Come over here, silly.” I spoke, the smile clearly audible in my voice. “You’re tired, and hurt, of course you can sleep here with me.” She smiled rather luminously at that, clearly grateful. She was about to lay down next to me when I placed my hand against her face, tenderly stroking the newly healed skin. “When I feel as badly as I imagine you do... It helps a lot to have some physical comfort, to feel the warm embrace of someone’s arms around me. Whether it was my mom’s, or those of a dear friend or partner.” I paused for the duration of a heartbeat. “Do you want to...?”

She hesitated even less than I thought she would have. I definitely read that one right... I thought, proud of my intuitive grasp of her needs right then. She happily snuggled up against me. I smiled at her again, shaking my head, lifting her body up enough that she was almost directly on top of me. I felt her hesitate for just a moment before she relaxed into my warm body. My arms wrapped around her back, holding her tight against me while my hands massaged the muscles of her upper and lower back ever so gently. Amelie sighed out in utter bliss at that, and I felt even more of her remaining tension melt away. Her weight was actually quite considerable for her size, but our bodies were soft enough that it was still remarkably, even wonderfully, comfortable snuggling like that. One of her legs slipped in between my own and I noticed my feet hooking themselves around hers. I simply buried my face in the soft dark curls on top of her head, breathing in her scent and letting it overtake and soothe my own senses. She very nearly purred at that, but the sound almost immediately grew less focused as I felt her drift into a deep, restful sleep.

I felt myself following her into slumber, though it took me a few minutes to completely drift off. Right before I could, I felt her jerk wide awake, her breaths suddenly short, gasping. I simply hugged her closer in response, and noticed she wasn’t quite awake, just nearly so, and frozen in the grips of some bad dream I probably wouldn’t even be able to begin to imagine the full horrors of. The thought itself of her suffering through that alone nearly made my tears come out once more, and it kept me awake for quite a bit longer. I felt her startle from her nightmares several more times, though each time was somewhat less intense as the first had been, and she went back to sleep faster each time when I refused to let go of her, refused to relinquish my hold. Eventually, the dreams must have ceased, and I finally felt the embrace of my dreams take me. They were not terrible at all, quite the opposite in fact. I dreamt of affection, companionship and love, of platinum hair and green eyes and midnight black hair and brown eyes, and felt so utterly peaceful and content and so blissfully happy that I would have cried with joy were I awake. I did cry in my dream, though the tears were warm and sweet. Now we just had to find some way off this damn ship, help Amelie to safety. And we’d take it from there, one day and one step at a time. Certainly the current trajectory of my life could not be better if I had written it myself, so I was more than happy to follow its current course wherever we would go. And that really was the end of the longest, busiest day I had yet had.

A/N: Okay then, that’s all for this day. Now they’ll have to figure out some way to avoid alerting the customs officials who may or may not be working with the other guys who’re after Amelie... And get off a ship that really only has a limited number of exits. I have not yet decided what will happen and probably won’t know until I write it, as the characters have their own ideas of what they want to try and do now. It makes it more fun as a trip, though.  
This chapter was more flirty than anything, and I hope I dealt with the attraction that existed between Evelynne and Amelie in a satisfying and believable way. Like with the other stuff, I haven’t exactly decided what will happen... And remember, we just have Evelynne’s perspective on this, and maybe she’s completely and utterly mistaken about her feelings. It’s possible, though I don’t think so :-) But we’ll have to see how that develops, as I can say that Amelie really isn’t in any position to, shall we say, physically consummate anything with her past, not in the near future. We’ll learn more about that later, so for now it’s just lots of physically affectionate/caring gestures. But then, who dislikes those? Certainly not me :) Anyways, I hope you enjoy the chapter! Next one will most likely be sizeable as well as there’s a lot of things I need to address to make any resolution of the transport ship section of Evie’s trip work. So it may be a bit before it goes up, unless I find some super easy solution that I am not yet aware of. And with that, I’ll leave it to you guys.  
I really am very pleased with how it is turning out so far, much more so than I thought I would be when I started writing this a few weeks ago. This chapter also has quite a bit of philosophical thought in it, at least from various characters’ perspectives, but I always enjoy that stuff, and I hope some among you do, as well. I think it is important to show how these people we’re reading about think, what they value in life, both implicitly through their feelings and actions and explicitly through their stated belief systems.

And thanks anyone for reading it, especially for commenting and/or favorite-ing the story. It really means a great deal to me to know that others derive enjoyment out of reading this, as much as I do writing it. So warm and happy thoughts to all of you!


	7. Trapped in a tin can

Chapter 6 - Trapped in a tin can

For the second time in less than a day I woke up to the most wonderful sensation one could imagine, the solid weight resting on top of me moving ever so slightly with the stirrings of the life contained within. I simply laid there for many, many minutes enjoying the closeness, the warmth of it, of her. My arms were still wrapped around her form, molding her body to mine. Our curves fit together so perfectly, providing just enough softness to make our current position supremely comfortable even for the many long hours of the night. My hands were absently rubbing on her neck and shoulders, the touch feeling so very natural I did it without even really realizing. I felt a soft rumble coming from her chest and a slight shift in tension entering her body, and knew she must have woken up. “Hey... did you sleep well?” I whispered into the dark curls of her hair that were layered over my upper chest, tickling slightly against my throat and chin when she moved the tiniest bit. One of her warm cheeks was snuggled tight against the softness of my breasts, the slight movement of air when she breathed causing the material of my shirt to dance ever so slightly, teasing the sensitive skin underneath.

I felt her nod sleepily, happily, against my chest. The motion also shifted her hair enough that it did tickle, and I shivered rather intensely throughout my body at the sensation. My neck was entirely too sensitive to that... I sensed, rather than saw her grin. I could hear it in her voice, too, when she spoke. “I most certainly did. And you’re that ticklish, huh? That’s... good to know.” I, of course, turned pink, and was glad she couldn’t see my blush just then.

“How are you feeling? Is your body mostly healed now?”

She nodded, slightly shifting her face so I could see her eyes, warm and brown, while still staying attached to me in what seemed a very comfortable position. It is for me, anyway. “Yes, it usually only takes an overnight rest for me to replenish my reserves after an injury of that nature...” Her gazed softened more, and genuine appreciation was visible on her features. “Thank you for last night. I really needed the comfort, I think. And thank you so much for allowing me to sleep through the nightmares.” Her expression grew clouded. “Most nights I can’t sleep for very long because of everything I have seen, and done. This is the first in a very long series of nights that I only woke up a few times, and I have never felt so secure in my life, ever.”

I smiled affectionately at her, touching my fingers to her cheeks in a soft caress. “You’re most welcome. I am glad I could help you be more comfortable, it was by any means the very least I could do.” I grinned at her. “And you better get used to sleeping soundly. I imagine if we’re going to make it out of this... predicament alive with all our limbs and sanity intact, we need you to be well-rested. I’ll certainly sacrifice my body as a pillow for that cause any day of the month.” I couldn’t stop a giggle. “Though, it’s not much of a sacrifice, you’re very comfortable to snuggle with.” I felt my cheeks heat at the admission, but valiantly succeeded in ignoring it, holding her gaze with my eyes without even blinking. I did very much want her to know I was serious about that, even if it was a little embarrassing to admit it so openly. I definitely knew she wasn’t used to people caring about her, and had a good sense that she would be very sensitive in all likelihood to any indication she was being a burden. She just seemed like the kind of person who hated being thought of that way, so I made sure to go out of my way to convince her she by no means was one. Not in my eyes and mind, anyway.

Amelie smiled shyly. “Thanks, Evie. That is most kind of you to say. And I did sleep better than I ever can remember having slept.” She paused for a moment, thinking. “What do you think we should do? I believe later today we will reach the edge of the constellation and they’ll do a full inspection of the ship before we’re cleared for jumping. And that is an exceedingly easy time for them to locate me, if they have any contacts within customs. And I am positive they do.”

I frowned. “Well... we should definitely talk to Max and Alecto and see if we can’t come up with any great ideas. I suppose we may be able to commandeer an emergency shuttle if we really think we’ll be trapped on board, and try to fly away undetected. Once we’re off the ship we could probably make our way over to Vylade in due time, possibly more safely as they would have a hard time tracking us down once we’re in open space.”

Amelie pursed her lips. “That may work. It’s not my first choice as they may be able to track the shuttle, but it would certainly beat getting picked off during customs inspection. If we can’t find a good place to avoid that, we may have to resort to this. But I say we first collect Max, get something to eat as I doubt they’d attack us in broad daylight... Though we better be safe and return here to actually consume the food. But then once Alecto is done with work we can contact her and have a meeting of brains, so to speak, and see if we can’t come up with some approach to get through this.”

I smiled. “That sounds good. I am certainly starving.” My stomach chose that exact moment to protest its emptiness loudly. I blushed at the sound. “And I imagine yours is even more empty considering you used so much energy yesterday?”

She nodded. “Yes, I need to eat a significant amount of food to restore my reserves or my body will cannibalize the least important tissues first. It is a defense mechanism during extreme stresses, but I’d rather not go through that if I do not absolutely have to.” Amelie quirked one corner of her mouth upwards as if to stress the obviousness of that, which I found rather endearing to be perfectly honest.

I smiled at her in sympathy. That did sound most unpleasant. And given her body’s extreme performance, I imagined it really did go through those processes much more quickly than a human could. If she burned a week worth of energy in an hour, you’d definitely be able to see the difference. I certainly didn’t want that. I shifted my eyes to hers. “Shall we get up and find some breakfast, then?”

Amelie nodded, and we slowly, almost regretfully, disentangled our limbs from their comfortable entwinement. I grinned at her and rolled myself off the bed, bouncing on my feet a bit as I landed on the floor. I quickly picked out some clothes to wear for the day. Much more modest ones than last night’s, if anyone was keeping score. Though, they’re still quite flattering. I smiled at her, brightly, and headed into the attached bathroom to change and give her some privacy should she desire it.

Amelie apparently didn’t; she walked in not thirty seconds later, dressing as she went. She finished slipping the shirt over her head, covering the last expanse of toned abdomen that drew my eyes for just a moment longer than absolutely necessary. Can’t really blame myself, either. I instead smiled at her, the warmth once again easily reflected in the smile that came to her lips in response. She grabbed the hair brush and spent a few moments brushing out her hair, wrestling it into a semblance of order with little apparent difficulty. I, on the other hand, was still combing through my hair, even as short as it was.

I was having an especially difficult time with the hair near the back of my head and so focused on my efforts that I had lost sight of what Amelie was doing, when I felt the warmth of her hand closing over mine. “Here, let me.” She spoke, softly. I let go of the brush, the feeling of my fingers tracing past hers leaving my skin rather electrified. With slow, expert strokes she brushed my hair until it was completely free of tangles, and utterly lacking the look of dishevelment it usually possessed. I turned my neck and smiled warmly at her, in thanks. Amelie just shook her head in return. “Don’t worry about it, Evie, it really is the least I could do after all the help you’ve given me.” I blushed a little in response to that, though I knew she was right. I have really gone out of my way to help her, haven’t I?

I checked over myself in the mirror, and feeling satisfied with my appearance, I offered my hand to her. She took it, and again I was struck by the soft warmth of her fingers in my own. “Ready for some food, Amelie?” I smiled at her, brightly. “You must be utterly starving from expending that much energy.” She nodded at that, and off we went.

It only took a few minutes for us to cross the distance to the breakfast room, as most passengers on the transport seemed to be sleeping off hangovers, or were otherwise entertaining themselves in their rooms. It was certainly not busy in the hallways, which suited us just fine. Arriving at one of the food booths, I leaned over towards Amelie and whispered. “I am terribly indecisive about these matters. Why don’t you order something for us both?” I grinned. “Probably several servings if I have a proper sense of your appetite.”

Amelie returned my grin in kind, and curved one of her elegant eyebrows. I felt the warmth of her breath on my neck as she replied in a soft voice. “It is truly insatiable. In more ways than one.” I felt my cheeks redden a tiny bit, and mock-scowled at her wonderful laughter that followed my response. She shook her head in pure mirth, before taking the last few steps to the counter. She ordered what I could only think of as enough food to feed a hungry family: three plates of delectable omelets, a half-dozen sausages, several sweet rolls with butter and a giant container of strong coffee. Apparently even she likes the feeling of the stimulants, though it would make sense with her metabolism that she needs a great deal more to notice it.

The food attendant’s eyes widened more and more as the list grew and only barely seemed able to refrain from asking what we were planning to do with so much food. I smiled sweetly at the man, enjoying his confusion. Amelie seemed to take pleasure in my enjoyment of the situation, and handed over a credit chip when the total was summed up. We had to wait several minutes for the food processor to conjure up all of our order, but finally it did. I was content to simply enjoy Amelie’s presence, take in the faint smell that accompanied her, the fragrance that was so uniquely her.

When we finally did collect our food, we made our way back to my room. Balancing it all on our arms was quite the task and I felt like it taxed even Amelie’s superior reflexes to keep from spilling anything. I was doubly thankful now that it was still so quiet in the hallways. I had to admit, there were some positives to awakening early. Even if I despised the practice on a normal day. This was anything but a normal day, though., so I was okay with the exception confirming my general rule.

Amelie entered my room after scanning the surroundings for any tampering, while I went to retrieve Max. He must have only barely awakened when I knocked on his door, judging from his ruffled appearance. I beamed at his grumpy expression. “Morning, sleepy. We’re ready for our talk.” I raised my eyebrow meaningfully at the last word, hoping I wouldn’t have to elaborate further.

It took him a second, but he did get it. “Ah, yes. That one.” He shook his head. “Ugh, I am so terribly tired, still. Give me three minutes and I will be at your room.” I nodded at him, and left him to get dressed.

I entered my room to the sight of Amelie having turned the floor into a picnic. I had to laugh at the sight of her arranging all the bags just right. “Ah, you’re one of those.” I smiled at her. A hint of embarrassment showed on her face, although it was quite difficult to tell.

Amelie narrowed her eyes. “I am just making sure we can eat properly. I’m sure if you had been in charge there’d be food all over the floor by the end of this.” I nodded, smiling. She certainly was right about that. “I’m ensuring efficiency. That’s all.”

I smiled happily at her. “I see. I do appreciate your organization. I freely admit I am not the most organized person in the federation.” I walked over towards the bed to retrieve my holopad. “I’ll call Alecto and see if she’s ready to talk, and we can go over everything when Max gets here. And scheme to our heart’s content.”

I put the holopad up against the base of the bed, facing towards where I imagined the rest of us would be sitting, and sent through a connection request to Alecto’s holopad. My call was answered moments later, and Alecto’s face filled the screen. My breath caught in my throat once more, seeing how lovely she looked. Especially as she was, wearing a simple robe that I knew left very little to the imagination. I beamed at her. “Hello, my love. I trust you slept well?”

Alecto smiled warmly back at me as I leaned close to the screen, wanting to feel at least somewhat close to her, as much as the distance allowed anyway. “Evie! I see you’ve managed to survive the night. I did sleep well. At least, as well as can be expected given that the woman I love is fighting lethal commandos on what was supposed to be a vacation!”

I lowered my eyes a little. I did honestly feel bad having her worry, and be so helpless to support me at the very same time. “I’m sorry Alecto... I truly am. I did try to be as careful as I could.”

Alecto shook her head. “It’s no matter, my love. I understand you could do no less...” She sighed. “It’s simply frustrating being so far away, not able to help much. How is Amelie doing? I hope she is better this morning? Though I could not imagine how her injuries could improve so much.”

I smiled in response, touched once more by her understanding. I motioned with my hand to Amelie to come closer and join me. “Amelie is much better. Her body is truly remarkable.” I blushed a little as Alecto raised her brow with a smirk at my choice of words. “Healing-wise, I mean. I have never seen anyone who could recover so quickly and seamlessly from such a terrible injury.” I drew Amelie close to me, as she had rather hesitantly settled herself a few feet from me. Gesturing with my fingers to her face, I traced the path of where the injury had been the night before. “I mean, half her face was cut!”

Alecto looked at her rather intently. “Thank you, again, for protecting Evelynne. She can be a little reckless and chaotic at times.” She paused for effect, adding. “I am truly glad you recovered, and that you’re still able to see this through. No matter what will end up happening.”

Amelie smiled finally. She seemed a bit hesitant, perhaps not fully trusting that Alecto could be so nonchalant about the whole matter. Especially considering the obvious attraction between us. “I am feeling well, thanks to Evie’s help. Saving her in return really was the least I could do. I swear to you that I will keep her safe.” She frowned a little. “I do not quite understand the reasons yet, but she is rather important to me, and I wish to ensure that she remains well.”

Alecto nodded at that. They held each other’s gaze for an indeterminate amount of time, seemingly communicating without words, or taking the other’s measure, I could not quite tell. Eventually Alecto smiled one of her luminous smiles. “Agreed. We will sort this out later. In person.” She turned her eyes to me. “That means staying alive until then, you reckless fool.” Her voice filled with warmth.

A knock on the door saved me from having to respond to that, and I grinned at Alecto before bouncing off towards the door. An immaculately dressed Max smiled at me, though I saw his eyes wander past my face to what I knew was an astonishing view of Amelie’s curves as she knelt forward towards the screen of my holopad. I could hardly blame the man, as I was certainly more enchanted by the woman than he could have been not truly knowing her as well as I did. “Enter, my friend.” I welcomed him with a flourish. “We’ve provided sustenance for at least two individuals and one ravenous beast.” I smiled and pointed my thumb at Amelie’s posterior.

I leaned towards Max ever so slightly, adding softly. “Really, I think her energy requirements are as much as six humans’. It is very impressive.”

He shook his head at me as he walked into the room. “Definitely impressive. As is your choice of companions, Evelynne. I swear, you’re either possessed of some insane ability to attract the most beautiful beings that I have ever had the pleasure of seeing, or you’re damned lucky. Or both.”

I just shook my head at him, not deigning that worthy of a response. He does have a point, but who am I to argue with my fortunes? “Sit down, big guy. You must be hungry, and we have a lot to discuss.”

Amelie ceased her hushed conversation with Alecto as we sat down once more, and gave her one last smile that seemed quite warm and friendly from what I could gather. That they seemed to get along quite well made me rather happy, to be honest, having feared a potential argument at least somewhat before. “Help yourselves.” Amelie said, and started loading up her plate with the equivalent of twice the calories I required in a day. Max’ mouth fell open as he watched this, and I elbowed him in the side for being so incredibly rude. It snapped shut instantaneously, and he glared at me a little. I smiled all the more at that, and started adding some delectable food to my own plate.

We spent the next few minutes in silence as we consumed enough to take the edge of our hunger. I certainly was rather hungry, and from the looks of it Amelie was famished. She had cleaned off nearly her entire plate in the span of three minutes, and my eyes must have been the size of saucers watching that. She blushed a tiny bit, though again it was difficult to tell under her darker complexion. I smiled at her, wanting to make sure she knew I was not thinking less of her. “Excuse my staring, I am simply impressed by your metabolism. I truly mean no offense.” Amelie nodded at that, and continued eating hungrily. She truly must have burned a prodigious amount of energy the night before to restore her injured form, and by unspoken agreement we let her eat another plate of food until the rate of her consumption slowed down just a bit.

“Okay, let’s get our little meeting started. Amelie?” She met my eyes inquiringly. “Can you make sure the reception is clear, and is not being intercepted or anything of that nature?”

She nodded, taking the holopad for a few moments, fingers dancing over the device with a look of determination on her face and entering a series of commands into it. Finally, Amelie seemed satisfied. “As far as I know it’s clear. And I doubt they could have avoided circumvented my detection.” She placed the holopad back down. I smiled a little as I realized that she had been giving Alecto a direct line of sight down her blouse into the deep valley of her cleavage. I could tell, too, that Alecto had not been entirely unaffected by that, judging from her slightly dilated pupils. I certainly could sympathize with that, knowing how powerful a pull the seemingly endless curve of Amelie’s breasts exerted. I doubt anyone else had noticed, but I knew her mannerisms well enough by now to identify that one in particular. and it did please me to know I was not alone in appreciating the perfection of her.

We spent the next fifteen minutes retelling last night’s events before Amelie told the others an abridged version of her past. By the end of it Max was visibly upset, and Alecto had a quietly determined look in her eyes that I knew meant she was incredibly angry. She spoke first, and her voice was nearly a hiss. “How dare they. I--” She paused briefly as if trying to calm herself down enough to continue speaking. “I have never been filled with such intense shame at being a citizen of this Federation.” Alecto’s eyes glanced over at mine. “I already understood and agreed with Evie’s desire to help you, and now I know she had no choice but to. They must pay for this, for what they’ve done. It is unconscionable that such a thing happened within our Federation. A Federation that is supposed to stand for freedom and equality for all!” She was nearly shouting now, and I ached to be able to wrap my arms around her.

Amelie responded first. “Thank you, Alecto.. It truly means a great deal to me that you take this, take my story so seriously. It’s very touching that you’d care...” Her voice was a little wistful, and I realized that it really was strange for her to consider other individuals giving a fuck about her well-being.

Alecto managed a sincere smile at her words, breaking through her steeled expression like the sun would on an overcast day. “My apologies for losing my temper.. I have grown up believing in what our federation stands for. It is such an important part of who I am, what I identify with... To hear of these ideals being made a mockery, a perversion of, is hard for me to accept.”

I added a further explanation, seeing Amelie’s lack of full comprehension. “Alecto’s people, the Intaki, they were one of the first and most vocal supporters of the Gallente Federation, have been from the very start of it in ancient times. And her family, they’re very politically active so it is a great part of her heritage, her childhood and upbringing. To think of these things, I mean.”

Amelie nodded in understanding. “I see. I’m sorry to have shattered at least part of the illusion, then. For it certainly is an illusion at least in some sense, the equality and freedom. If this happened to me, I certainly wasn’t the only one. I know of some others at my station who were in similar positions, and it cannot have been the only such attempt they made. Who knows what has been hidden, hushed up, in the name of some of these wars?”

Max broke his silence. “I’ve always had the sense there was more going on than the government was telling us... I am certainly not a traditional supporter of our great state.” I grinned at his understatement, especially suspecting his likely profession. “I fully support you, Amelie. Now that I am part of this, part of your life even in such a small way... I cannot ignore these cruel acts, not without losing all respect I have for myself.”

I nodded at that. “Exactly, that’s initially why I wanted to do something, myself. I do not think anyone could live with themselves ignoring this... Although obviously the people who worked on this project, who supported it, had a way to sleep at night.”

Amelie shook her head, disgustedly. “They never considered us human beings. It’s truly as simple as that. And once someone is convinced of that, convinced of the rightness of their cause, they can make themselves do anything...”

I nodded. That was my sense of it, too.

My concurrence was echoed by Alecto. “Indeed, I think we are all on the same page concerning this... So what do we do next? I imagine now that they know you’re there, you must find a way off that flying tin can... If they lock down the ship when you reach the customs area you’ll be found for sure.” She looked thoughtful for a few moments. “I doubt hiding would work, not if they search every inch of it. And they would, if they want you badly enough, if they think it matters to avoid a scandal and protect public support of the war effort. I think you need to leave sooner than that...”

I looked inquiringly at Max, then Amelie. “I think Alecto is right, but how do we get off a transport in deep space?”

Amelie grinned. It was both predatory, and incredibly attractive and caused my insides to do a few backflips in response. “We steal one of the shuttles, of course. I’m sure Max here knows how to fly one in a pinch...” Max nodded. “And you’re helping one of the most gifted pilots in the Federation.” Her voice became a bit bitter at that. “I was programmed to be able to fly nearly any ship, of course. Not truly something I taught myself...”

“Could we get to the emergency shuttle bays undetected, you think?” I asked her, rather skeptical it could be so easy.

Amelie nodded. “We should be able to. Especially if we help things along.” She looked at Max. “Do you have any experience with sabotage?”

Max grinned in response. “More than I would normally admit in such fair company. I can create a diversion no problem by causing some alarms to go off elsewhere on the ship, and creating a little bit of mayhem. But where?”

Amelie and Max were both lost in thought for a few minutes, before she spoke. “The CPU banks on the ship may be a good place. It would get their attention.. If we set off a malfunction in the cooling system it should shut down most of the processing units, and that would surely cause some chaos.”

Max smiled at her. “I like the way you think.” Sighing dramatically, he added. “As smart as she is deadly, where is the justice in this world?” We all chuckled at his antics, and he continued, all business now. “Shorting the energy supply to the CPU cooling would be a perfect distraction. I could do that. I’m not a fugitive as you are, and I could give you the time you need to make your way towards the shuttle.”

Alecto spoke then. “Evie?” I looked at her, seeing the serious look in her eyes. “Be careful, okay? And stay with Amelie, make sure you escape with her. I fear they may have identified you last night; you can’t stay here by yourself. If you get apprehended by some black-ops team on a transport I’ll never see you again. They’d likely lock you away so deep not even the eternal void would know where to find you.”

I nodded at her, tears gathering in the corners of both our eyes. It was Amelie who spoke, then. “I’ll make sure she does, Alecto... Even if I have to knock her out and carry her on board, I’ll make sure she gets off of this ship. Evie really has become quite important to me, even having just known her for such a short time, that I want to make sure she’s alright.”

Alecto nodded back at her. “Make sure she will be. Or I will hunt you down. I don’t care if you’re as strong as ten people; if you fail in protecting her...”

Amelie gazed at her solemnly. “I would let you. But that won’t be necessary, I will truly keep her safe.” She looked Alecto in the eyes for a few more moments. “You’re meeting us, aren’t you?”

I looked at Amelie, then Alecto in surprise. Alecto answered my glance. “Yes. Yes, I want to. I think that whatever I am doing here, on Bourynes, can wait. This is more important. To make sure this perversion of all our Federation stands for is dealt with. And soon, before it spreads more... If they become complacent, think they can get away with this without any repercussions, it WILL spread more, become more and more commonplace. We can discuss a meeting place later once you get off, while I make arrangements. I assume we’ll have secure communications even then?”

Amelie nodded. “I’ll make sure of it. We can meet you somewhere in space if you can find a private transport, and otherwise we can always find a location planet-side.”

I looked at Alecto warmly. “Do be careful as well, my love. I can tell you’re very angry, and I don’t want you getting yourself hurt... Can you get a safe transport, you think?”

Alecto nodded. “I’ll contact my father, and he’ll be able to conjure up some assets to get me off the planet in the next day or so. It does pay to have political connections that are also family.” She ended the statement with a rather cheeky grin, and I melted yet more inside. I loved this woman so. It really did take my breath away sometimes, just to think about it, or be reminded of the fact in such small ways. “I probably should start that now in case he’s about to retire for the night. I have a hard time keeping track of daylight schedules in other constellations.” I grinned at her joke. “I love you, Evie. Take good care of yourself.” Alecto’s eyes turned to Amelie. “And you... Take care of yourself and her for me, okay?”

Amelie nodded she would, and after sending me a kiss Alecto broke the connection on her end. We were all silent for a few moments, gathering our thoughts. My fingers had become entwined with Amelie’s while I was distracted, and it did surprise me how easily that happened. How natural it felt to touch her, to be around her. She smiled at me warmly, rubbing her thumb over the back of my hand. “We’ll see her soon. I promise.” She canted her head slightly. “I never break my promises, so this will happen.”

I grinned at her, and saw Max shaking his head at us from the corner of my eye. “You’re just jealous, Max. Go find your own close friends. You certainly aren’t lacking the charm for it.”

Max smirked. “I am lacking the desire to, though. It’s just too complicated. I like things... simple. Unattached.”

I looked at Amelie. “See what I have to deal with after befriending this one? It’s truly quite terrible. The man’s a scourge on all women. At least one they gladly seem to embrace... That’s my one consolation.”

Amelie laughed liltingly, the sound making my heart flutter a little. “I’m sure. Well, I say we get started as we may only have a few hours at the very most before we reach the customs zone. I say we get off this ship long before if we can help it?”

Max nodded at her. “Yes, let me collect some supplies and make my way to the CPU banks. I have a general sense of where they are on a ship of this type. It should only take me an hour.”

Amelie rose gracefully, the slight swaying of her breasts during the motion not at all evading my attention. Probably not Max’s attention, either, but I honestly did not care about that.

She walked the few steps to her pack. She found what she wanted, and held out a small object to Max. “Here, this will aid you quite a bit. It’s a small hacking tool I liberated from the station I was confined on... It will override nearly any lock or electronic safeguard you will encounter.”

He took it, gratefully. “This will help a lot. I have something similar, but...” He studied the device. “not nearly this advanced.” He rose as well. “Be ready to leave within the hour. I suggest you make your way over to a waiting area close to the shuttle bay within thirty minutes.”

I nodded, and spontaneously gave him a hug. His powerful arms wrapped around me as he smiled warmly down at me. “Be safe, Evie. I will see you again soon. Hopefully in better, freer, circumstances.” His eyes met Amelie. “And like Alecto said earlier, keep her safe, okay? This one is rather special. I’d hate to lose one of the most awesome friends I’ve met in a long time.” He grinned, adding jokingly. “I would also be very much upset having to track you down. Would be such a waste considering your beauty.” He winked and released me, disappearing from the room shortly after.

I turned and looked at Amelie, my fingers finding hers once more. “Sorry for that. I feel rather terrible having everyone threaten you like that, even if they’re mostly joking.”

She smiled at me. “That’s okay, my dear Evelynne. I can understand the emotion, why they’d say that. They simply care, and want to express that before they leave and may never see you again. It is entirely normal, human, to do so...”

I nodded, realizing she probably was right. I squeezed her hand. “Do you need any special things ready? Or is all you need squirreled away inside that impressive mind of yours?”

She tapped her head with the hand I wasn’t holding. “All in here. We can take your bag, though. I’m sure it has some personal effects?” I nodded. “That’s settled. I can carry it as it will not even slow me down in the slightest. But repackage your most precious possessions in case we need to make a run for it at any time.”

I accepted the logic of that, and spent the next few minutes compiling a smaller pack that had my most emotionally precious belongings. Mostly, things related to my family and anything Alecto had given me. I double-checked my first aid supplies, knowing we could certainly need those again. Finally, I was satisfied. “Shall we?” I asked, simply.

Amelie grabbed the large bag that required most of my strength to lift in one hand and raised it off the floor as if it was filled with feathers. My eyes were slightly wide once more, it never ceased amazing me just how strong the woman was. I slung my smaller pack over my shoulder and clasped my hand in hers, setting off towards the shuttle bays.

It only took us a few minutes to each the one Amelie had picked. It belonged to one of the smaller corporations that provided planetary transport services from this larger ship, and was virtually deserted. There were a great many containers placed all over the hangar, and we ducked behind one to wait for some sign that Max had succeeded in his attempt to give us a distraction.

A few people still wandered this area and to ensure they wouldn’t look too closely I made a rather convincing show of being lustfully engaged. It certainly wasn’t hard to make it seem like that, I loved snuggling up to her lush form, feeling the softness of her curves against my own, and burrowing my head in her neck and hair. It simply felt wonderful, like another home. Amelie’s unnaturally strong arms gathered me yet closer and I melted against her body almost bonelessly. I probably made a vast array of rather embarrassingly contented noises; her chuckles were enough proof of that. She seemed to relish the contact, though, and I felt a bit of the tension drain from her muscles as we sat there for I don’t know how long. That especially made me feel a great deal better, as I knew she probably had never been able to let her guard down around another person. It was such a wonderful thing to give someone, especially someone this... deserving.

Finally, our cue arrived in the form of instant darkness descending over the ship. Amelie chuckled in my ear. “This should make it simpler. Keep hold of my hand, I can see quite clearly in the dark.”

I did just that, as I certainly couldn’t see anything. We almost ran for a minute or two, reaching what I assumed was the other side of the shuttle bay. A few shouts of distress rang out in the darkness as Amelie moved my hand to her waist, giving her the freedom to use both hands. I was glad for the darkness as my face heated considerably feeling the softness of her skin against my fingers. I could only barely hear the tapping of her fingers on a keypad, the sound so faint I wasn’t entirely sure I was imagining it.

Finally, a louder click and whirring sound announced the opening of the shuttle door, and after a moment Amelie lifted me off the ground by several feet as if I weighed nothing. My arms flailed around until they found the belly opening of the shuttle. These things normally came with mobile stairs, but obviously we did not have access to that without power. I climbed inside the ship, turning around and offering my arm to Amelie in return.

I made sure to brace myself and was glad I did when she herself up. She would have pulled me off the floor of the shuttle and out into the bay even using only a very fraction of her strength. As soon as she entered herself, she lifted off the ground and hit the control pad to close up the doors, leaving no sign of our entrance. When the doors closed, she activated the interior lights and I looked around.

She’d located a newer model shuttle, it seemed. It looked fairly cozy on the inside, even as cramped as it was. These ships were certainly not meant for combat, or very long-distance travel with significant cargo. They moved passengers from and to stations for the most part, and excelled at that. I knew their mass was so slight that they could turn and warp at almost the blink of an eye, that only the very fastest of interceptor frigates employed by the Federation Navy could hope to lock these ships down before they were gone. I’d seen quite a few ships as a student, but never one in a situation such as this. I moved towards where I knew the power core was located, almost drooling on the metal floor as I thought of the harnessed energy that was at our disposal even in a ship this tiny.

I turned to see Amelie sitting in the pilot’s chair, watching me with a bemused expression on her face. The door normally separating the shuttle pilot from the passenger area was completely open. “Do you need a napkin, dear?” She asked, grinning.

I scowled at her, and rubbed at my chain in embarrassment to see that I had indeed drooled just a slight amount in unabashed excitement. “I can’t help it if I find ships fascinating. These machines are one of the pinnacles of our technology, of what our minds can achieve. It’s just amazing to me how much power we can harness just like this, how easily it moves us amongst the stars...” I trailed off, slightly embarrassed.

Amelie smiled warmly at me then. “I understand, Evie. Don’t worry that I was making fun of you, I truly have no desire to do such a thing. I simply thought you were very endearing becoming so excited over a shuttle. Truly.”

I nodded at her, smiling again. Moving towards her I took the seat next to her, one I imagined normally held the backup pilot. I held her hand once more while we waited. I enjoyed the physical connection, being able to feel the soft strength of her.

Eventually, after many minutes the lights seemed to flicker outside, indicating that they were starting to restore control to the system. Amelie was now carefully scrutinizing her flight computer, having tapped into the main ship’s diagnostics a little while ago. “I’m waiting for the automatic sensors controlling the docking bay doors to come online before they fully restore control and can easily stop us from leaving.” I squeezed her arm in encouragement and she smiled at me with just the corner of her mouth, not taking her eyes off the screen.

“Any moment now...” She murmured as more and more little sections of the ship blinked green. Suddenly, in response to one in particular lighting up near the ship’s aft, she sprang into action. It was a true pleasure to see Amelie so in control of what she was doing as her fingers unerringly found the right controls to set the ship into motion.

It lifted smoothly off the deck in response to her guiding hand and we quickly flew towards the giant airlock that separated this oxygenated bay from the voids of space. The sensors were indeed online, and the airlock started to open allowing us entrance. The moment we cleared the doors they started closing once more, creating an airtight lock. An impassive voice surrounded us as we waited, counting down from a minute.

My stomach was in twists as we essentially were sitting ducks right here. If anyone had tracked us, could track us, they could prevent us from leaving and we’d have no way to fight it. I felt my hand tremble a bit so tense was I. Amelie started soothingly rubbing her fingers over the palm of my hand in response, replacing the anxiety with an altogether different sort of nervous energy. One much more pleasant in nature, so I would have made the trade any day.

 _Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven._ I met Amelie’s eyes and smiled at her as she returned both hands to the flight controls.

 _Six._ A quick glance down at the screen confirmed a good number of sections were still down, especially near the central command hub.

 _Five._ Unbidden and even somewhat unexpected to myself I leaned forward just then and placed a tender kiss on her cheek, holding it in place for just a second. A whisper left me lips in accompaniment. “I trust you, Amelie. Get us out of here?”

 _Four._ Amelie turned her head fully, looking into my eyes with a piercing intensity as if she was staring deep into my soul. After a fraction of a second, though, she smiled and it lit up her face immeasurably.

 _Three._ “Thank you, Evie. For everything. The trust you placed in me even though you had no reason to...”

 _Two._ “I will get us out of here, and we’ll see your beloved Alecto before you know it. Okay?”

 _One._ I nodded. “Okay.”

Then the sight of the vast doors opening and utter blackness beyond took my breath away for a few moments. It was a majestic sight, and signified so much more than simply space. It was freedom from confinement, some measure of safety for my new friend, and a clear path to the woman I loved. I felt truly giddy with anticipation at the thought of getting to see her again so much sooner than I had hoped. Especially after having had only one day together where we truly knew about another’s feelings.

I was so lost in happy thoughts that I only noticed the third Fuck escaping from Amelie’s lips. A first glance at the screen showed me the reason; we hadn’t been the only ones leaving. And judging from Amelie’s expression, from the way her frown deepened as she glared at the display that listed relative distances... the other ships seemed to be on an interception course.


End file.
